In today’s edition of the Nelson Weekly there is an advert that contains disinformation about candidates seeking election to the Nelson City Council.
The advert passed through our normal checks and balances to be published, an error which the publisher regrets. The advert contains some statements that are untrue and others that are misleading.
We have given each of the candidates impacted by the Nelson Citizens Alliance advert an opportunity to correct any information and make a statement in response to the things that have been published.
Rachel Sanson
I am deeply concerned about the Nelson Citizens Alliance ad that has been published in the Nelson Weekly issue today. It contains disinformation and false statements. In my view it could be seen as a well-timed 'hit job' on progressive ethical candidates, in the final days of local government elections, with no opportunity to respond or refute the claims. It also undermines participation in democracy and is likely to deter good people from running (or voting) for local government.
This behaviour perpetuates the discrimination and bullying I have experienced in my first term of Council. The attack is personal and vindictive and has no part to play in any election campaign. It reflects poorly on those campaigning under the Nelson Citizen Alliance banner.
Rohan O’Neill-Stevens
It’s incredibly disappointing to see claims that hold no truth, and are easily fact checked, published by those who would seek to represent our community, where we have an obligation to serve the public honestly and transparently. This kind of dirty politics puts people off engaging in local democracy at a time when we need to be doing all we can to lift voter turnout and increase involvement.
For the past three years I have worked hard to engage with members across our community, to bring new voices into the fold, and to provide effective governance of our city - and that is something I will continue to do.
I have been a staunch advocate for climate action and ensuring our representatives reflect their communities, in line with our residents' concerns, but I have never been a member of extinction rebellion nor publicly or privately criticised councillors on the nature of their demographics. These claims appear to be an attempt to discredit the significant achievements I have made over the past three years.
I’ve been proud to run a positive campaign, putting forward a genuine vision and evidence-based policy for Whakatū Nelson’s future, and I look forward to working constructively with whoever is around the table after the election, and actually delivering for our city.
While the claims were an attack against me, they also undermine the significant time, energy and investment the council and hundreds of staff and contractors have put into our infrastructure to provide a foundation for our city’s success, where we have doubled our capital spend and delivered a large number of significant and award-winning projects.
Aaron Stallard
It should be of concern to everyone who values our democracy that Nelson Citizens Alliance has sought to influence the outcome of an election by publishing a full-page attack ad, just a few days before voting closes, based on untruths and misleading statements about other candidates. The disinformation and personal attacks in this advert result in real harm to democracy and hinder efforts to increase public engagement in democratic processes.
Matt Lawrey
It’s a real shame that this group has decided to go down this dishonest and actually quite sinister route. It’s definitely the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in a local government campaign and I think everyone who is on the Alliance ticket needs to be held responsible for it.
This sort of negativity and misinformation makes it hard for candidates who are trying to run positive campaigns based on actual facts and ideas.
It also damages local democracy. Not only do these personal attacks put people off voting, they actually put people off standing in future elections.
The claims about me are rubbish and not worth responding to.
It would be interesting to know who is funding this campaign. Hopefully, the Weekly can do some digging and find out. The people of Nelson-Whakatū deserve to know who is paying for this attack on their local democracy.
Pete Rainey
I am very concerned about the Nelson Citizens Alliance ad that has been published in the Nelson Weekly issue today. This is dirty politics that Nelson doesn’t need.
The statements about me personally are simply not true. Contrary to their claim it is ironic that the only person I know who has actuallybeen stood down from councillor duties is the Nelson Citizens Alliance Mayoral Candidate.
The ad contains disinformation and many false statements. Simple fact checking would have allowed those responsible for this ad to realise that they were about to publish untrue statements. It is, in my mind, very irresponsible for a group who profess to be promoting a new responsible council team, would stoop to spreading untruths at this stage of the campaign.
It also undermines democracy and is likely to deter good people from running for local government.
Neville Male, convenor of the Nelson Citizens Alliance was approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
Nelson Weekly would like to apologise for the publication of false statements in today’s newspaper. The Weekly holds itself to the highest standards of journalism and publishing and regrets the error. Publisher Andrew Board says there will be a review of how content for election adverts is processed to ensure this does not happen again.
