Entrenched interests that controlled the Gore District Council would not want change, Curtin University adjunct research fellow Dr Andy Asquith said.
"A 23-year-old entrepreneur setting up camp - it is bound to end in tears."
Gore Mayor Ben Bell, now 24, is poised to face a vote of no confidence at a council meeting next week.
Perth-based Dr Asquith said the mayor seemed to lack maturity and he should have looked at the establishment in Gore and known he faced being isolated.
The establishment, too, was found wanting.
The relationship between Mr Bell and the chief executive at the council for more than two decades, Stephen Parry, broke down soon after the election.
On Thursday, the council released a statement that said deputy mayor Keith Hovell and Cr Richard McPhail met Mr Bell the previous day and asked him to resign.
Five councillors supported the request.
Mr Bell declined.
Cr Hovell said "the actions of the mayor in recent weeks had led to the difficult decision to request his resignation".
Most councillors had lost confidence in the mayor.
The majority of councillors had lost trust in the mayor acting in the best interests of the community and council as a whole.
Cr Hovell did not elaborate yesterday, but indicated comment at the meeting on Tuesday would be frank.
Dr Asquith, who had followed the saga closely from Australia, said he was surprised the Government had not sent in observers by now.
"Quite clearly the council is now dysfunctional, which was the rationale for bringing commissioners into Tauranga."
Last year’s mayoral race was tight.
However, eight more people voted for a change of mayor last year than voted for the incumbent, Tracy Hicks.
Dr Asquith said a vote of no confidence held only symbolic significance.
"It's for either the citizens to not re-elect the mayor in 2025 or for the mayor to resign," Dr Asquith said.
"It's not for the council to decide they don't like him."
Former Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins made much the same point on Twitter.
Gore councillors had demonstrated they did not know what their job was, nor the mayor’s job, and they did not understand the Local Government Act, Mr Hawkins said.
If the chief executive could not make the relationship work, "the only viable reason for him still being there is his commanding the political majority in council".
The mayor "should resign because more than half of us don’t like him" was not how elections worked, Mr Hawkins said.
Most Gore residents approached in the streets yesterday said the mayor should be given a chance.
Asked why the majority of the council seemingly did not respect the result of the election, Cr Hovell had no comment.
The Department of Internal Affairs said it was aware there had been developments recently in Gore and it was working with the council to determine how it could best be supported to resolve issues.
The culture at the council has been under some scrutiny for years and Newsroom reported this week the council’s former chief financial officer Doug Walker still had nightmares about working there more than 15 years after leaving.
Ex-staff told Newsroom about a "culture of fear".
Mr Parry once turned up on Mr Walker’s London doorstep, prompting him to seek a restraining order.
Mr Parry declined to be interviewed yesterday.
The council later released a statement attributed to Mr Parry.
A claim by Mr Walker of bullying was not upheld by a Labour Department investigation and nor were incidents of bullying in the workplace identified, Mr Parry said.
"The department did issue the council with an improvement notice following its investigation, relating to its health and safety policy in terms of handling stress and complaints.
"The notice was quickly actioned.
"The willingness to address issues, including a comprehensive second-tier structure undertaken in 2021, has delivered the strong organisation that we have today."
More than $400,000 has been paid out in severance to about 20 staff since 2004.
The council’s people and culture general manager Nicky Cooper said the organisational culture should be looked at through "a modern lens".
In a staff survey last year, three-quarters agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "my organisation has effective governance and leadership in health and safety".
Just under three-quarters agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "senior leaders create an environment of trust and fairness within the organisation".
