Roger Stratford
Official Candidate Statement
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.
Other News and Biography Details
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".
Connect with Roger Stratford
News Stories about Roger Stratford
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Charades and prophets
Waikato Times — September 1, 2025'Mayoral candidate Roger Stratford, who wore green gloves throughout the meeting, perhaps offered the afternoon's biggest curveball to deal with an issue highlighted by the Waikato Times last week. How to deal with the wet wipes "just flushed down the toilet blocking the people" [sic]. He said council should hand each household a plastic bag with QR codes to be filled with used wet wipes which could be attached to the red rubbish bins. Then, refunds are paid into Paypal accounts. "Hopefully that's clear," he said.' Clarity: The QR codes, identifying the household, would be embossed onto each posted plastic bag, which are tied to the handle of the red bin once full of used wipes. The QR codes are scanned by the driver's rubbish truck companion and the information sent to provide a credit to the pre-registered user's PayPal account. This would encourage responsible disposal of wet wipes, without resort to offensive public information slogans. Comment: the word 'pipes' in "blocking the pipes" was wrongly transcribed as 'people'.
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Who wants to be the next mayor of Hamilton?
The Spinoff — August 6, 2025There’s a wide-open race to lead the city of the future. With incumbent mayor Paula Southgate headed for the door, it’s anyone’s game for the Hamilton mayoralty. Nominations for the race are now closed and 12 candidates are in the running.
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