The Mayor whose family lives 400 kms away

Stuff reports:

Two years after he won the Porirua mayoralty, Mike Tana’s family still lives 432 kilometres away in Rotorua.

One councillor said it was “bloody disgraceful” that, despite a promised move, his wife and six children had still not joined him in Porirua and another said he should back up claims the city was a great place to raise children. …

During his 2016 election campaign, Tana said his family would join him if he was elected. Following the election he said they would have to move eventually.

“Rotorua’s great, but Porirua has elected me their mayor and I need to do them justice.”

Councillor Anita Baker said she was sick of the issue and he should have done as promised. “I think it’s bloody disgraceful. He’s told us from the beginning they would move here and every year they don’t.

 

“It’s not satisfactory and I’ve heard people in the community say if it’s not good enough for his family why should it be good enough for theirs’?”

Generally it should be of no concern where a Mayor’s family lives. But if he campaigned on a promise that he and his family would live in Porirua, then it is a legitimate subject of scrutiny.

On Tuesday, Tana did not answer questions on times he commuted to Rotorua, how often he used the mayoral car for the trip or whether his family still intended to move to Porirua.

Porirua City Council chief executive Wendy Walker said the council provided a vehicle to Tana for full private use.

“Mayor Tana forgoes a portion of his salary to recognise his personal use.”

This is the other area of legitimate scrutiny. If the Council pays all expenses for his car, then commuting to Rotorua on a regular basis will cost massively more than just using it around town.