Former mayoral candidate disrupts council meeting

Brandishing a spatula and hurling a volley of venomous insults, former Carterton mayoral candidate Kate Raue burst into council chambers last night disrupting a council meeting.
An irate Ms Raue arrived as the meeting was due to start, demanding to be heard at the public forum.
Mayor Gary McPhee invited the clearly agitated Ms Raue to take her rightful five minutes as she unleashed a verbal landslide of abuse, first at the mayor, then at other councillors and council management and finally at former Carterton mayor Georgina Beyer, who had, ironically, just finished introducing her new role as Violence Free Wairarapa co-ordinator.
Councillors looked on at the outburst with a mixture of shock, bemusement, bewilderment and resignation.
Ms Raue was standing just inches from councillors Jill Greathead and Chris Engel when she pulled the blunt spatula from its sheath and, pointing it at Mr McPhee, accused him of violence.
"You just pick on people and bash them on the head with a fish slice," she said.
"That's not a fish slice," Mr McPhee said.
Ms Raue also accused councillors and senior council management of shady accounting alluding to a past audit of the Carterton Community Centre before launching into a further tirade in which she called Mr McPhee "a pig" and "a bully".
Ms Raue became increasingly agitated as Mr McPhee reminded her she had only 25 seconds left of her allotted speaking time.
"What a joke you are Gary," she said.
"This is disgraceful how dare you speak to the mayor like that," Ms Beyer, sitting in public seating, was heard to remark.
Soon after Ms Raue turned her wrath on the former Wairarapa Labour MP, "as for your theatrics you're a big transvestite & a prostitute".
Mr McPhee issued her an ultimatum and told her she could either sit quietly or he would go next door to the Carterton Police Station for assistance.
He then arose from his seat and slowly began walking towards Ms Raue. As he approached, Ms Raue accused the mayor of intimidating her and using stand-over tactics, "I'm just being a gentleman and opening the door," Mr McPhee replied.
Her erratic behaviour continued as she quickly got up and exited the room as Mr McPhee ushered her out.
Councillor Barbara Durbin then adjourned the meeting.
Mr McPhee returned without having to call on police assistance and reconvened the meeting.
Ms Raue returned roughly 15 minutes later and disrupted the meeting again saying she was "sick of not being heard by this council".
However, her encore was brief and she left chambers shortly afterwards.