High profile resident Steve Morris is stepping down from his Papamoa post in an attempt to run for Tauranga City Council at this year's local body elections.

The Papamoa Progressive Association chair announced he was stepping down last night and will be standing for the Mount Maunganui-Papamoa ward on October 12.

Steve Morris and former Tauranga City councillor Bob Harnor.

Better representation and financial discipline for the people of Tauranga is high on his priority list.

'I made the commitment to stand down before the election. The reason for that was because I was intending to stand for council in 2013.

'My family has a long history with the PPA. My dad was an ex-chair of the PPA and I wanted to make sure the organisation retained its independence.”

Three years ago Steve missed out on winning a council seat, losing by 174 votes. The current councillors for the ward are Deputy Mayor David Stewart and councillor Wayne Moultrie.

In that period Steve has been able to build a base of supporters, promoting himself as a proactive voice for Papamoa and increasing his resolve to represent the Papamoa community and be their voice in council.

In the last two years the association has undertaken a number of community based projects, including reducing the time period electoral signage can be erected, and convincing council to implement a liquor ban in Papamoa.

Last week Steve personally visited 21 dairies in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa to survey whether they sold synthetic cannabis in an effort to remove it from the community.

Stepping back on to the campaign trail, Steve feels he will bring fresh perspectives and a better representation to the role, sending a scathing warning to the current councillors.

'It is about advocating for the community and listening to the community rather than making excuses why not.

'Sometimes they [councillors] can be exceptionally helpful and sometimes if they don't like what they [residents] are saying they berate them. I think it's a sign that perhaps they have been there too long.”

With council currently recording a debt in excess of $400m, moves to right some of the wrongs created during the last decade are high on Steve's list. Included is Route K, Mount Hot Pools and constant rate rises.

'Route K was built on the wrong financial forecasts. Upon opening in 2003 the road was supposed to have 6000 vehicles using it per day. Ten years later, by 2013, it was supposed to have over 12,000. But today less than 5500 vehicles a day use it and there is a $2million shortfall every year in tolls that gets added to the debt.

'We as a community are paying the price for the decisions of our elected representatives, almost all of who have been in office for more than a decade.”

Steve says these projects are costing ratepayers millions of dollars and council is not listening.

'If councillors had listened in the beginning then they wouldn't have had to spend millions and then shelving them.

'The council has been very good at increasing rates, but I think they also need to look at the expenditure side of things also.”