Original story by Matthew Martin, Waikato Times
Waipā mayoral candidate Mike Pettit is promising a bold, relationship-driven leadership style, focussing on transparent governance, financial sustainability, and new approaches to community infrastructure funding.
The Cambridge Primary School principal is one of two strong contenders for Susan O’Regan’s mayoralty, and joins long-standing Pirongia-Kakepuku Ward councillor Clare St Pierre in October’s mayoral contest.
Pettit said he’d completed his local government apprenticeship after three terms, two as chairperson, on the Cambridge Community Board, and two terms on the district council, and was ready to take the next step.
He’d have to give up his role as principal, but said “I’m not planing on coming in second” and had a plan in place for a smooth leadership transition at the school if he wins.
Pettit, who has held leadership roles for more than 30 years, said his decision to stand for mayor was made with his family.
“It has been a family decision, and key to this was the support of my very able wife, Nic,” he said.
He believes the council can and must do better, saying he is a leader who thrives on challenges and values collaboration.
“I truly believe as a council we can do a whole lot better ... everyone is a stakeholder, and all 60-odd thousand of us have a collective responsibility to make it better.”
It’s not surprising, coming from a school principal, that Pettit is also keen to up-skill councillors to improve their effectiveness and “ensure we are actually making the best decisions for our district”.
“This will be based on professional development in financial literacy, strategic planning and thinking, effective questioning, and a speed reading course.”
Pettit has pledged to reduce the reliance on ratepayers for the funding of community amenities saying “we can’t keep flogging the ratepayer as we have done or rely on government handouts”.
He said exploring alternative revenue streams, partnerships, user-pays models, and community trusts, would be key to keeping rates down, and cited Go Waipā and the Cambridge Town Hall Trust as examples.
Pettit is also calling for a more innovative approach to budgeting.
“Are we brave enough to start in a department and start the annual budgeting process with a zero budget, a clean slate?”
He said this would ensure funding decisions are based on actual service needs rather than incremental annual increases.
Another key priority is putting a stop to double-digit rates increases, including projected increases of nearly 50% between 2024 and 2027.
“This is clearly unsustainable for ratepayers, particularly as we head into a future where rapidly more people are going to be on fixed incomes through being retired.”
He has identified several infrastructure needs, including a long-overdue Cambridge Community Hub and library upgrade.
“The Cambridge Library is hugely undersized ... we need to explore ways of making this project happen,” and said traditional funding methods would not be a starting point.
He plans to work closely with the Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce on a town centre refresh and promised better infrastructure outcomes for the district’s satellite towns.
If elected, Pettit said he would prioritise partnerships with mana whenua to strengthen the Māori economy in Waipā, particularly in sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishing.