By VANESSA BIDOIS and PAUL YANDALL
HAMILTON - Hamilton City's two top civic representatives may call a truce as political infighting mars a mid-term review.
Mayor Russ Rimmington was forced to use his casting vote three times in a testing special council meeting on Friday at which five new committee heads were appointed.
A second meeting next month will decide the fate of the deputy mayor, Brian Impson.
Mr Rimmington said yesterday that there was a good chance that Mr Impson would keep his job at the deputy mayoralty challenge on March 17.
"I think he's been captured by some extremists and I think he has learned his lesson."
Mr Impson - who has accused those attempting to roll him of political blackmail - said he would meet the mayor this week to resolve any differences.
"What's gone on over the past two or three months has been people engaging in personality politics and we've got more important things to do than that."
The big losers from Friday's purge were Jody Garrett, dumped as chairman of the council's strategic planning and policy coordination committee, and Pippa Mahood, ousted as head of the social and community committee.
In their places came councillors Alison Miller and Dave Macpherson respectively.
The mayor had to use his casting vote against both Mr Garrett and Mrs Mahood, and again to ensure political ally Grant Thorburn was appointed chairman of the environment and operations committee - a position left vacant by Alison Miller's elevation.
The mayor is permitted to use a casting vote on the 14-member council if the numbers are tied.
But it is tradition for the casting vote to go with the status quo and Mr Rimmington had confidently indicated before the elections that its use would be "highly unlikely."
Yesterday, he said that councillors passed a resolution to disestablish all committee positions "so it was not a matter of using status quo."
Garry Mallett has returned to chair the economic and audit committee, a role he was dumped from three months ago.
Ted Armstrong was retained as head of the statutory management committee.
Steve McLennan was appointed chairman of the newly formed district plan committee.
The membership of all the committees will be considered at a council meeting on Wednesday.
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