A sacked Whangarei District Council employee launched a scathing attack on her former boss and chief executive Mark Simpson in a letter to a friend, describing him as "nasty" and saying she felt like being released from prison after her dismissal.
Jan Walters-Gleeson has taken the council to the Employment Relations Authority, seeking reinstatement, lost wages and compensation, after she was dismissed in August last year for signing the nomination form of mayoral candidate and former mayor Stan Semenoff.
The content of her letter, written in April this year, was revealed by council lawyer Samantha Turner while cross examining Ms Walters-Gleeson at the final day of the hearing in Whangarei yesterday.
Ms Walters-Gleeson wrote that she was well over working with Mr Simpson, and described him as "evil", and stated he did not like her.
Ms Walters-Gleeson also wrote that getting outside of council had been an "absolute godsend".
Ms Turner said the letter showed Ms Walters-Gleeson was incompatible with Mr Simpson and others in the senior management group.
She said Ms Walters-Gleeson had earlier indicated that reinstatement was not an option because her working relationship with Mr Simpson was "beyond repair", yet she had applied to the ERA to be reinstated.
Ms Turner submitted that rather than looking for another job, Ms Walters-Gleeson went overseas and did other things.
In his submission to the ERA, Ms Walters-Gleeson's lawyer Anthony Russell said her dismissal for exercising her democratic right under the Electoral Act was harsh and out of proportion. He submitted that the Electoral Act superseded the council's election protocols.
Mr Russell questioned the need to have election protocols in the first place when the council chief executive could exercise discretion on what employees could and couldn't do in terms of participation in election campaigns.
He said double standards were applied by Mr Simpson when he allowed his advisor Ford Watson to do some work for mayoral candidate Warwick Syers while dismissing Ms Walters-Gleeson for exercising her democratic right.
Authority member Robin Arthur has reserved his decision.