Editor's warning: Political commentary doesn't have
much of a shelf life, and this was written in 1998.
Hamilton's civic affairs are administered by the
mayor and council from, I assume, these garish buildings in Garden
place. I don't want to alarm anyone unnecessarily, but I've never
actually heard of anyone entering that building and leaving it
alive. (Or entering it at all, so fearsome is its reputation.)
One day soon, however, I shall brave its terrible portal in search of the mystical yellow no-parking line, which, if applied correctly, will ward off the students who park on my street, reducing it to a single lane during the term. On that day I will, I hope, bring a full accounting of what is merely, no doubt, the bustling and bright yellow heart of the city. All the same, I'm planning on leaving a trail of breadcrumbs so I can find my way out again. (That trick never fails.)
Hamilton's mayor is Mr. Russ Rimmington, a dashing conservative (to judge by his suits, I've never actually met the man, being a lowly student).
The political scene, already a little acrimonious, was given new life when former mayor Margaret Evans, who had been the mayor longer than I had been a voter, announced her resignation in 1998. Fortunately for the good citizens of Hamilton, a plethora of accomplished politicians were both available and willing to fill any vacuum that might occur near the top of a power structure.
The most memorable were former deputy-mayor Gallagher, sponsor of
swimming pools and the closest Hamilton has to landed gentry; the
man who was Chesterman, a successful businessman whose fame grew
each time he appeared on a busy commuter route dressed in a
fetching vote-for-me sandwich board; and Russ Rimmington, whose
bold 1995 slogan "The new broom sweeps clean" still makes me
cringe.
My opinion aside, this bald association of Rimmington with hard
work, and indeed, of hard work with glamorous politics, stuck in
the mind of hard workers across Hamilton, and they're the sort of
people who vote. (Those of us inclined to associate brooms and
politics with dirt had already done so.)
The main issue the election was fought over was the Hamilton Casino. All the politicians were repeatedly asked, or enthusiastically volunteered, their views on this issue: did they or did they not support the construction of a casino in Hamilton? The debate raged fiercely. It was a perfect issue for a politician to have a strong opinion on, since the decision had been made months before and the incoming council was powerless to stop it.
The election was breath-taking in its failure to impinge upon the existence of the university. One man did step forward, however, and boldly promise a cycle track between city and campus, thus securing the support of the scholars (student population: 10000, voter turnout: 3). That man, the inimitable Rimmington (pictured), was duly elected.
For the moment, we're awaiting further developments, but I'm sure we can look forward to some sweeping changes from "the 3 year old broom."
It is not my intention, by the length of this page, to imply that
the mayor, or indeed, the council, is particularly important.
Nothing could be further than the truth. In fact, I would go so
far as to say that I have been half a dozen years in Hamilton, and
they have yet to make a decision that has affected me.
Nor would I want you to think that our civic leaders are idle talkers, powerless and unwilling to resist any sort of bureaucratic, commercial, or public pressure. On the contrary, the last few years we have seen the council boldly develop a skateboard park; initiate a determined - and successful - campaign to make the downtown more colourful by painting anything that is too heavy to blow away (see picture); heatedly debate the Casino that everybody seems to oppose but we're getting anyway; vigilantly watch someone else organise a Waikato Stadium; bravely subject the city to ridicule from the rest of the country by suggesting we change its name to Waikato City; and generate enough opinions and press releases to keep (at least) three free newspapers in circulation.
Editor's note (January 2002): To give the council its due, they have managed to stall the Casino for a few years, and to paint some remarkably green cycle lanes on several major intersections. Who would have thought?