Mai under fire over leadership

Mayor Sheryl Mai said her style was one she believed best suited Whangarei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Questions are being asked over Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai's leadership of a divided elected council.

However, supporters of the mayor say she is running "a very difficult ship", with the mayor herself saying her leadership style is "considered and reasonable".

At a heated meeting on Wednesday, the divisions within the council were obvious over the future of the controversial Town Basin building, but also became apparent as the debate became more heated.

Councillor Susy Bretherton stated at the meeting she had lost faith in the council's leadership, which prompted an immediate response of "disgraceful" from Cr Cherry Hermon.

After the meeting, Cr Bretherton said Mayor Mai had recently supported a Hundertwasser proposal for the building "when back in June she was trying to say the Hundertwasser idea is at the end, we must move on, etc".

"I have lost faith - that's the bottom line. I don't know how she'll pull together. Unfortunately this issue should have been put to bed in June. We've had over 12 months as a council and a number of weeks ago I started to consider this [council leadership] an issue for me," Cr Bretherton said. "I haven't seen strong leadership."

Ms Mai responded by saying her style was one she believed best suited Whangarei. "As council's elected representatives, councillors must sometimes debate contentious issues. These need to be addressed with dignity and the common purpose of reaching the decision that best serves Whangarei."

"Sadly, [Wednesday's] extraordinary council meeting to debate the future of the old NRC building was not a stellar example of that. Clearly, we have some work to do, and I will be addressing that ... In the meantime, it's business as usual for me, working for the betterment of our district with the team that has been elected to do the same."

Senior councillor and former deputy mayor Phil Halse described the council as divided, saying: "We've got some serious issues we've got to sort out quick - our ratepayers deserve that."

Councillors voted on Wednesday to assess further the Harbourside proposal before holding a referendum in March next year on whether to choose either the Harbourside or Hundertwasser proposals, or demolish the building. Conduct at the meeting was described as "appalling" and "deplorable".

Cr Hermon defended the mayor, saying she "absolutely" believed in Ms Mai's leadership.