JIM MANSELL – Candidate Profile Statement

Retired Area Commander/Detective Inspector of Police, Pharmacy Owner/Director, Regional Councillor.

Competent Representation

Competent representation requires mental capacity, commitment to the task and integrity of effort.

I have demonstrated these attributes in every endeavour I have undertaken.

Retain Environment BOP Headquarters in Whakatane

The decision to move the headquarters did not comply with the Local Government Act and the decision has been set aside by the Court of Appeal.

There was no evidential basis for the decision to move the Headquarters.

 I strongly oppose the move.     

Watch the Dollars

Council spends your money. 

You would be surprised how freely they spend it. 

We need to focus on our core business and cut the wish list. 

Let us have consistency of principle and fairness in apportionment of rates, and frugality in the amount levied. 

Honest Effort  -  Your Interest  -   Rating Fairness  -  No Excess

Top 5 Issues

1. Competent Representation.
   The range of issues placed before council are signficant and varied and often quite complex. To be able to make decisions one needs to be able to understand the material. This may not be easy.
   Having the ability to get over this first hurdle then requires the commitment to learn and understand the issues in depth.
   On top of this commitment there is then the requirement for significant time allocation to not only read the material but then to consider the appropriate course.
   We are not in office to merely rubberstamp council officer recommendations.
2. Retain Environment BOP Headquarters in Whakatane.
   The Court of Appeal decision has set aside the decision of the Regional Council to move the Headquarters to Tauranga.
   The basis for this was a failure to comply with the Local Government Act.
   This is a significant blow to the credibility of the Regional Council.
   The Deloitte report upon which the decision to move was ostensibly based did not in my view provide an evidential base for the recommendation to move or the subsequent vote.
   This matter needs to be appropriately revisited without parochialism.
3. Watch the Dollars.
   The dividend from the Port of Tauranga and the wide rating base provides the Regional Council with a significant cash flow.
   Irrespective of how flush the council is and the relatively low absolute amount of the general rate we need to stick to core business and in turn limit expenditure and rating demands.
4. Rating Fairness.
   Irrespective of the amount of rates demanded, we need to make sure that we are consistent in the basis on which they are levied.
   We need to ensure there is no great imbalance in terms of the amount rate payers are asked to contribute and no unfair cross subsidy within the region. Having said this though, we need to think regionally. Such is the purpose and benefit of a regional council.
5. Remove the Politics.
   Too many governance decisions involve the political positions and aspirations of politicians.
   We need to serve the public not ourselves.
   Decisions need to be in the interest of the Regional Community.
   Let us get rid of self interest.

Personal Profile

 

PERSONAL

I retired from the New Zealand Police after 32 years service in 2005.  At that stage I was 53 years of age. I absolutely enjioyed my Police career, much of it spent in Wellington in the Criminal Investigation Branch.  My wife Christine has owned and managed a local pharmacy for 26 years.  We are both very familiar with the issues confronting small business in the Eastern Bay.  In the 11 years up to my retirement I was the Area Commander of Police for the Eastern Bay and worked from Whakatane. I currently live on the eastern side of the Ohiwa Harbour.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

As relates my personal philosophy, I do nothing by halves.  I believe if you take on a role then you need to give it your very best endeavour.   I have achieved through hard work and commitment and putting my experiences to constructive use.

 FINANCE

One of my main functions at a personal level is financial investment.  I have a head for numbers, I understand numbers, and it is what I enjoy.

I have been investing in equity markets since I was 17 years of age and that 40 year period has allowed me to gather a range of experiences.

Capital markets and investment intrigues me. My personal finance and business interests over the years have given me exposure to a host of issues that I have had to research in order to make decisions. These interests include small business, bare land ownership, commercial property ownership, and domestic property ownership and rental both in New Zealand and off shore. I have learnt first hand with risk to my own capital.

DECISION MAKING

We will all make good, not so good and sometimes bad decisions.  Personally, I do dwell on a decison which may not have given the result intented but hopefully learn from it. Most importantly I will make a decision even though unpalateable and not procrastinate.                                

MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

As far as my management and interpersonal skills are concerned, I have an extensive history of excellent performance.    As an Area Commander of Police for the Eastern Bay of Plenty I have been involved at managerial and operational level with the need for ethical and responsible decision making, integrity in financial reporting and encouraging enhanced performance.

As a Detective Inspector and Area Commander of Police, I led large numbers of staff, numerous homicide enquiries and mission critical assignments as head of the Armed Offenders Squad. 

ANALYTICAL ABILITY

Although a major part of my career has been in Police command and management, I am a qualified Detective and have an analytical mind.  That analytical and deductive process has been applied to my business and life processes.  

FINDING THE BEST COURSE

I believe I am a contrarian and take a position opposite to the herd. This has served me well. To some extent I am also the “devil’s advocate” because we need to test the margins in the decision making process.   We need innovative and lateral thought process.

INTEGRITY

Ultimately, while there are numerous principles to which we adhere to ensure governance is well performed, I believe if we encapsulate the principles of governance in one word, that word would be “integrity”. This relates to both personal and operational integrity. Personal, involves integrity of character, purpose and effort.  Operational, involves integrity of structure, systems and reporting.

VALUE AS A COUNCILLOR 

I have now spent three years as a regional councillor. Much of it is sordid politics but there is also a compelling aspect. This is the raison d'etre of the Regional Council. I have learnt  an incredible amount about air quality, lake restoration, ground water resource, flood and river schemes, siltation of our harbours, the Resource Management Act, consents, passenger bus services and the costs of administering these.

I have also learnt that these are difficult issues and competent representation , commitment to the task, and integrity of effort is what the public should  expect and deserve.

Overall, I believe my business, investment, and police exposure, proven character attributes, and now three years as one of your councillors provide me with skills to give that capable and competent contribution, and most of all, add value to the governance of region.