 Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said that Sutton "would be very popular".The CEO of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce, Peter Townsend, said it was the "most important Government appointment of the year" and that Sutton had all the right attributes for the job.The Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said that Sutton had shown through his reaction to three earthquakes (this counts the Boxing Day aftershock as a separate event) that he is very pragmatic.