Phil Mauger proved an independent candidate could get elected in the Burwood Ward at the first attempt, by ousting a long-serving left-leaning incumbent.
Now a staunch supporter of the aspiring mayor is trying to prevent Labour from regaining a key seat around the Christchurch City Council table.
Kelly Barber has persevered with his local government aspirations in spite of suffering a heavy defeat in the Coastal Ward by-election last year, where he was convinced to stand under the Labour banner and placed a distant fifth behind Celeste Donovan, an independent with a Green Party background.
Barber’s second attempt at the Coastal Ward – he previously polled third behind James Daniels and former representative David East in 2019 when running on The People’s Choice/Labour ticket – convinced him to resemble Mauger’s independent profile leading into October’s election.
“It was disappointing because I and a lot of people put in a lot of effort, but if you keep going and doing the same things you’re going to get the same result,” he said.
“So I made some resolutions out of it. I thought the people in coastal clearly want a local and someone not politically affiliated.”
Barber will learn on October 8 whether enough Burwood Ward voters share the same opinion. Barber faces an intriguing head-to-head battle with Michelle Lomax, a former chair of The People’s Choice and a first-term Central Ward representative on the Waikura Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board.
While Barber has severed ties with Labour and The People’s Choice, Lomax has pledged her allegiance to the party, although the Government’s popularity is waning.
A qualified lawyer and mother-of-six, Lomax decided to stand earlier this year and moved inside the ward boundaries to Dallington.
Barber now portraying himself as an independent was not a concern. Nor was Labour’s poor showing in the by-election nine months ago.
“Kelly had to do what’s right for him, there’s no shame in that,” Lomax said.
“I’m presenting my vision and ideas, and he’s presenting his and it’s up to the voters to decide. I value that he’s like me, he wants to be positive.”
“I’m Labour, it’s all about values for me. I want people to know who I am, and will succeed or not on that basis,” she said.
Although he lived outside the Coastal Ward, Barber was encouraged to stand there for The People’s Choice and Labour in 2019 by then Burwood Ward councillor Glenn Livingstone, who was ultimately denied a fourth term by Mauger.
“The Coastal Ward is where the work was, that was where I was invited to participate. I love a challenge and I thought it’d be a great place to start.”
Barber now acknowledges he should have resisted the call.
“I don’t really consider myself political, I’d never been a member of a political party or anything like that but to get the support, essentially, you have to become a member,” he said.
The by-election, called when Daniels stepped down, was another chastening experience.
“People said it would be far better to run under Labour. I didn’t really have a strong opinion on that ... we went through that process and it failed dismally.”
In spite of two setbacks, Barber, who chairs the Waitai Coastal-Burwood Community Board would not be deterred from seeking higher office.
“I don’t give up easily,” said the Coast to Coast veteran, who had completed the endurance test 17 times.
“If I gave up every time things got tough I wouldn’t achieve anything. You learn much more from your failures than you do from your successes.”
Although this campaign is in its early stages, Barber said there were already a key distinctions.
“This campaign’s on me. The buck stops with me. It probably did in 2019, but I guess I feel more in control.”
- The elections will be held by postal vote. Voting opens on September 16 and closes at noon on October 8.
