Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris

Around election time I get calls from likeminded residents asking who to vote for. Apart from the self-interested answer, I don't tell people who else they should vote for!

I tell them who I'm voting for, and why.

With 20 candidates standing in this by-election, we're spoilt for choice.

It's nothing personal, but I go through the ballot paper and eliminate those I can't support.

I can't vote Owens because I disagree with his support of wards based on ancestry.

I'd agree much of the time with Faulkner, but after three decades on council? Perhaps it's time for someone else.

Going on past records I think Christiansen would support the status quo, but with a 40 per cent increase in the rates forecast, I don't want the status quo.

I'd prefer rates closer to inflation and I'm looking for someone who can help successfully manage a growing city.

If you'd told me I was going to vote for John Robson two years ago, I'd have laughed at you.

We haven't always agreed, and if he's successful we won't always agree.

But last term saw lower rates increases and lower debt while still delivering core infrastructure – thanks in no small part to the international business experience he brought to the table.

So, that's how I'm voting.

Whoever you're voting for, remember to post it by Friday, April 27.