Brendon Burns wins Christchurch Central
Brendon Burns will be delighted to have won the Labour nomination for Christchurch Central. With nine candidates, no-one would have been complacent.
Brendon is a former editor of the Marlborough Express. He’s stood twice for Kaikoura so will see this as third time lucky.
He spent a few years heading up the communications unit in the PM’s Office, and since then has been doing private consultancy work.
I met him when he was doing the comms for a Digital Cities conference, and InternetNZ hired him to do the comms works for the major (ICANN) conference held in March 2006, for which I chaired the organising committee. So have had a bit to do with Brendon, and pleased to see him win the nomination.
It’s a pity that neither Labour nor National are updating their websites with confirmed candidates. I met set up a couple of pages here, if the parties do not, so people can see who is standing where.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Thats a good idea David.
Hey do you know if John Hayes has been reselected for the Wairarapa?
December 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I think he has, but I’m not definite.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
“He spent a few years heading up the communications unit in the PM’s Office”,
He’s a shoo in to head the new Ministry of Propaganda. The guy’s a veritable Goebbels.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
DPF:
I’m wondering if you know anything about this. If I recall correctly, before the last election National ran a programme for nu-breed talent. It was designed to assist new MPs to hit the ground running. Has this been discontinued? Of course, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if other parties run the same kind of programme for confirmed candidates.
[DPF: The Candidate's College is still active]
December 10th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Third time lucky? Not if his bosses carry on the way they are. Chch Central might be ripe for the plucking…
December 10th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Chch Central is very safe Labour-closest National ever got was when squeaky clean Nicky Wagner ran a very vigorous campaign when openly gay Tim Barnett first stood and that still wasn’t even close.
December 10th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Megan Woods will be gutted.
She went from a popular (on the left) Mayoral candidate to a defeated nomination candidate pretty quickly.
Wonder if she will head back to the Progressives now?
I would suggest Wigram as the seat for her.
Now wouldn’t that p*ss the old mentor off?
December 10th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Julian Blanchard has been selected for Labour in Rangitata from the Timaru Herald this morning.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
From talking to those that were actually at selection sounds like while Megan seems to have been fed the view that she was a front-runner that the basic party membership were really uncomfortable with her being a candidate so soon. Mr Burns seems to have been well liked by the little old lady brigade (maybe a new Winston on the rise) but given his background in actually running a business as well as having been a union member he will at least bring a degree of balance to the table. Suprise of the night was that from what I hear the person who actually gave Mr Burns a real run for his money was party faithful Erin Ebborn- Gillespie. She may have lacked the campaign experience that Mr Burns has with two campaigns under his belt but as she is unopposed to run in Wigram she will get one under her belt next year. Nominations for Wigram have closed so Megan Woods won’t have the chance to run against Jimbo, but I doubt she would have had the stomach to run against her mentor anyway. Question is will Labour actually run a real campaign in Wigram this time – because really what the hell does Jimbo bring to the table these days!!! Nothing but his 70 year old self!!
December 10th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
No surprises there. He’ll be a pretty good candidate. He’ll lose but could make it an interesting seat in years to come if he stays on there.
December 10th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
It will do them no good. Nicky Wagner is in good form to take out Christchurch Central, esp with the boundary change. Its more National-leaning now than ever before and she is a confident, familar face – having spent most of her life in Chch and being on the council etc. More so than someone who has spent their career hidden away in a politicians office.
If I lived in Chch Central, I know who’d I’d rather vote for/have represent me.
December 10th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Ha! Yea right Hoolian.
As much as I would love to see the Nats take Chch Central it ain’t going to happen. Barnett has done enough over the last twelve or so years, and add in the strength of the local party – they will win it by AT LEAST a thousand votes.
National’s efforts in Canterbury/Westland would be far better utilised helping out the very popular Chris Auchinvole on the Coast.