Roger Stratford

I am the one candidate prepared to stand up to the prime minister over his attacks on local government independence, unlike my chief competitor for mayor, beholden to central government partisanship.  

Growing up in Fairfield, I chose Hamilton to settle in for its unfulfilled potential. 

I entered politics, shocked at the entitled nature of Council and the middle-class stasis. My policy platform places a moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence software in Council applications. Constant contrived assertions of uncertainty undermine public confidence. By resisting central government mandates, pulling out of Local Government New Zealand and borrowing from the Reserve Bank at zero interest rates, we become a family-orientated city.  

When you rank your candidates in October, remember this phrase, 'We're aligned on that', signalled to my chief competitor by the outgoing office-holder. If you believe we can't afford more of the same, then you must vote for an outsider. 

Roger Stratford is the only Hamilton mayoral candidate prepared to stand up to central government. If elected, Roger will hold a binding referendum on membership of LGNZ.

Hello, I'm Roger Stratford. I am the Secretary of the Hamilton Residents & Ratepayers Association Incorporated. Please don't confuse me with fellow aspirant Tim Macindoe, as we look alike in some photos, especially in profile. Tim and I are not as different in politics as you might come to believe. We are both strong supporters of Family First NZ, for instance. We both favour referenda on important issues.

Whilst I (and Tim himself, I would suggest), consider ourselves natural rivals for Hamilton's elected office, the media have dubbed "Senior" Councillor Sarah Thomson as his chief opponent. But this comparison is problematic, due to the vastly different demographics of the two. It's difficult to compare oranges with apples and come up with a meaningful result. The two media favourites come from completely different generations and in the way they source their support network.

In the Hamilton mayoral race, there are three "R" candidates - Rudi, Roma and Roger - that are ignored by business. We are struggling for recognition among frequently bombastic fellow candidates. No popularity polls have been conducted, despite our consistently strong performances on the debate stage. The mayor of Hamilton cannot be filled by a current Councillor but by an "outsider".