Upon his return from the United Kingdom, Mr Collinge has continued and sustained his previous involvements and interests, therebycontinuinghisloyalty and public service in the community.
MrCollinge undertook the role of President of Auckland Citizens & Ratepayers (C & R) for five years from 1999 –2004, and was President during the local body elections in 2001. The background was that for many decades previously C & R had controlled the election of candidates in Auckland City ‘with relatively little angst’ [Graham Bush, the Auckland City historian at page 254]. However, in the late 1990’s public discontent [page 254] and dissatisfaction among elected representatives [such as the Chairman of the Auckland Regional Authority at page 255] ‘saw sustained criticism of Auckland’s political management’. Further, ‘C & R came under criticism for being seen as inflexible and out of touch with voters’ and as ‘needing fresh faces’ [page 254]. A consequence was the formation in 1998 of a new rightwing ticket -Auckland Now (closely related to the ACT Party). Although it won only two seats on Council in the election of that year, Auckland Now split the right leaning vote and ended C & R control of the City [page 254]. The President of Auckland C & R (Lindsay Fergusson) resigned shortly after in 1999 in protest at dysfunction within C & R and Mr Collinge was appointed Acting President. He was later elected President until 2004.
(a)Merger of Auckland C & R and Auckland Now.Personalities and a significant range of issues separated the two groups and, given that Council elections were based on a first past the post system, electoral success depended upon unity. Mr Collinge patiently over some two years built up sufficient ‘mutual trust and confidence’ between the two groups [page 256] to negotiate and settle the joint venture which merged the existing C & R and Auckland Now parties. Common policies were developed and agreed, administered by an executive which Mr Collinge chaired of eight C & R members and seven Auckland Now members. He held the organisation and the ticket together to contest the 2001 local elections –under the name ‘Auckland Citizens & Ratepayers Now’ [page 256] -thereby restoring co-operation and stability.
(b)Election Success.Under Mr Collinge’s leadership, the merged organisation was successful in winning back control of the Council in 2001 [page 254]. Tellingly, after five years in the role, Mr Collinge did not seek re-election in 2004 and, at the election in October 2004, the ticket lost control of the Council and its lack of success continues.
In this contribution Mr Collinge built upon his previous ‘active’ and -successful involvement in local body elections with the C & R executive from 1980 to 1989 [pages 28, 257] (described by Mayoral candidate John Horrocks as ‘unstinting and constructive’) [page 253]. Successes in the many various campaigns with which Mr Collinge was associated are not co-incidental as he is widely credited with calm, tenacity and patience, strategic skills and integrity –all valuable electoral assets -also reflected in his success at national level. Just as he had previously raised the level of public acceptance of the National Party organisation and Presidency, he followed this up with C & R at local level.