Parker won't run: where the blame lies

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says he won't run for re-election in October.

Mr Parker made the announcement on Campbell Live this evening.

Christchurch East Labour MP Lianne Dalziel is challenging for the Mayoralty. Polls have indicated a close race.

Mr Parker, who has been Mayor since 2007, says he is "exhausted".

He fears a "dirty election" and is "wrung out" by his time in the position.

The latest in a series of post-quake controversies has seen the International Accreditation New Zealand stripe the council of its consenting accreditation, and CEO Tony Marryatt sent on leave.

"Up until today, iPredict had Mayor Parker at 40-50% likely to be re-elected. I was shorting today at $0.45, and there were people willing to buy Parker shares at that price," Canterbury University econonmics lecturer Eric Crampton told NBR ONLINE.

"I hadn't expected that he was going to pull out of the race today, but I did think his contract was overvalued. Why? Lianne Dalziel is a reasonable candidate in her own right, and a strong draw for anyone interested in an anyone-but-Parker ticket," Dr Crampton says.

"While Mayor Parker was a soothing presence after the September 2010 earthquake, his administration left rather a lot to be desired.

"Indeed, he was set to lose the 2010 election to Jim Anderton but for the September quake.

"Since the quakes, he has failed to make the changes necessary in Council's bureaus to ensure a successful recovery.

"The Council's land use planning and consenting offices were not known to be paragons of competence before the quakes, but it mattered less then. The widening gulf in new home construction and consenting since the quakes between Christchurch's neighbours, Selwyn and Waimakiriri, and Christchurch City, said a lot about what wasn't happening in Christchurch Council's offices."

When the Christchurch Press every week highlighted another business or homeowner whose rebuild was stymied by snafus in the Council consenting offices, it's hard to believe that Mayor Parker could have been surprised by that there were there substantial problems, Dr Crampton says.

"It was Council Chief Clerk Marryatt's job to ride herd on his consenting offices, and Mr Parker's to make sure that he did it. The rather spectacular failure revealed with the loss of consenting accreditation made it rather obvious where blame ought to fall.

"I was called Wednesday night for a Christchurch Press poll on the upcoming mayoral elections. I wouldn't be surprised if Mayor Parker today got a call from The Press for reaction to the polls, and re-evaluated his options."

See Bob Parker's Campbell Live interview here.