Gore councillors intent on bringing down New Zealand’s youngest mayor are today set to reveal why they believe he needs to go.
Ben Bell (24) declined to resign last week and he faces a vote of no-confidence at an extraordinary council meeting that is due to start at 3.15pm.
The Gore District Council is poised to remove him from committees and to write to Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty, requesting discussion of potential intervention available to assist the council to effectively govern and conduct its business.
Councillors have not specified why Mr Bell’s mayoralty should be cut short.
They are also facing a public backlash.
The stated rationale against Mr Bell’s mayoralty has been that most councillors have lost confidence in him, lost trust in him acting in the best interests of the community and they are concerned about "the actions of the mayor in recent weeks".
Deputy mayor Keith Hovell has so far declined to elaborate on which actions by the mayor have caused concern, but signalled he would expand on this at the council meeting.
The relationship between Mr Bell and long-serving council chief executive Stephen Parry broke down last year.
The chief executive has described recent months as difficult.
Mr Parry is not expected to attend today’s meeting.
Mr Bell is understood to have maintained significant backing in the community and a petition seeking Mr Parry’s resignation had by last night attracted more than 3350 signatures.
A report by Newsroom last week put the spotlight on alleged bullying at the council during the past two decades.
This was followed by TVNZ’s Sunday programme putting further heat on the council and Mr Parry.
Eastern Southland Business Chamber chief executive Sheree Carey yesterday described the conflict, including the resulting negative press, as an unhelpful distraction.
"We’d like to see the situation resolved sooner rather than later," she said.
The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed yesterday it had become involved to some extent.
Meetings were held last Friday and they included Mr Parry, Mr Bell and other elected officials, a spokesman said.
"These were informal meetings, focusing on helping the council understand the options to resolve their current issues."
Local Government New Zealand national council member and Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry yesterday called for an independent review to be allowed to do its work before any other action was taken.
Issues and allegations should be investigated first, he said.
Mayoral feud
Possible outcomes from today’s Gore District Council meeting.—
No-confidence: The council pass a vote of no-confidence in Mayor Ben Bell.
Limited influence: The council removes the mayor from all committees, subcommittees and joint committees.
Ministerial intervention: The council writes to the Minister of Local Government requesting a meeting with council representatives to discuss intervention measures.
