Sparks fly over city mayoral contender's comments

Campaign statements made by a Tauranga mayoral contender have been shot down by trustees of the city's biggest charitable trust.
Mark Groos' election campaign for the mayoralty and the council has partly rested on his track record as a member of the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (TECT).
In his candidate profile that accompanied council voting papers, Mr Groos said: "I initiated many changes which increased TECT's net income, improved TECT's decision making, improved TECT's operations and improved community awareness of what TECT does. TECT achieved these improvements whilst decreasing many of it's (sic) costs. I also initiated the survey which asked the community how they would like TECT funds spent."
He has also made other statements on his website.
But in headline-grabbing swipe at his candidacy, all of Mr Groos' fellow TECT trustees have signed a letter disputing his contributions to TECT.
Half of the two-paragraph letter said: "Voters should be aware that other Trustees do not share his (Mr Groos') view of his contributions or agree with his claims."
The letter was signed by TECT chairman Michael Cooney and members Bruce Cronin, Dame Susan Devoy, Ken Collings and Ron Scott. However Mr Cooney would not elaborate to the Bay of Plenty Times on how they disputed Mr Groos' campaign statements.
"All we are trying to do is to flag that there are different views to the one being promoted by him, and to leave it at that."
Mr Groos responded that TECT trustees had been embarrassed by all the changes he had made to the organisation since he was elected in June, 2008.
He said nearly all his election statements could be verified by documents either on his election website or at his home.
"I was appalled at what I saw when I joined TECT. It is not my style to say this but it was an absolute pig's ear.
Sparks fly over candidate's comments
EXTRACTS FROM STATEMENT ON MARK GROOS' WEBSITE
"I consulted experts and leaders on a large grant application to TECT for the disabled and discovered that much more could be provided to the beneficiaries of the grant using one-fifth of the money requested in the grant.
"I reviewed TECT promotions and recommended TECT use direct promotion rather than advertising in newspapers ... resulted in many more applications to TECT.
"I reviewed TECT investments and discovered a $10 million investment had been under-performing for five years, reducing potential earnings by hundreds of thousands per annum. That investment was promptly sold and used to pay off debt.
"I reviewed TECT operations and made several suggestions to improve. Deloitte independently recommended all my suggestions, with a potential saving of $90,000 per annum.
"I recommended TECT use its size to centralise grants and bulk purchase."
Mr Groos' website also cited 38 other initiatives which he said he introduced.
"I don't make statements that aren't true."
He questioned how Dame Susan could sign the statement when she had attended only one meeting since her recent election as a trustee.
The Bay of Plenty Times put it to Mr Groos that the trustees did not seem to respect him.
He responded: "I think respect is the wrong word. I think the right word is embarrassed."
He disagreed that the trustees had stuck their heads above the parapets in making their statement. It was all because he had got into an organisation and made changes that upset the status quo.
Mr Groos said that whenever someone came in to make changes and make people feel uncomfortable, people got upset.
Mr Cooney, when pressed to expand on the statement from trustees, said it was his view that a champion team would always beat a team of champions.
"To get a council to deliver the best result for residents, people need to understand that."
And in contrast to Mr Groos saying he had upset people to achieve change, Mr Cooney said no individual could achieve any results unless they were supported by the majority of trustees.
"Whatever results occur, they are the results of a majority decision."
"I don't want to get into the performance of individual trustees but it is a powerful statement from five of the six trustees," Mr Cooney said.
Mr Groos said he did not stand for TECT to make friends.
"I am in this to because I saw something wrong with TECT and did a lot to fix it. I challenge them to come up with the evidence that the things I am saying are wrong."
Dame Susan said she had been to two meetings since she was elected three months ago. Although she did "um and ah" about the statement, she said it definitely needed to be said.
"His statements have definitely warranted some response from trustees," she said.