Steve Wilce, the fantasist sacked from his Defence Technology Agency job in 2010, is standing as a candidate for the Far North District Council. Photo / Supplied
Steve Wilce, the fantasist sacked from his Defence Technology Agency job in 2010, is standing as a candidate for the Far North District Council. Photo / Supplied
The top Defence Force scientist sacked and exposed as a Walter Mitty-type character has emerged as a candidate for councillor in the upcoming local body election.
Steve Wilce has put himself forward as a councillor for the Far North district and a candidate for a community board ward in Paihia,where he lives.
His personal candidate biography doesn't repeat debunked claims made while director of the Defence Technology Agency, when he was the chief scientific advisor for the NZ Defence Force.
Those included claims he had served as a special forces soldier and seen action in the Falklands, Northern Ireland and Gulf War, winning some of the most respected military medals.
Also missing is the claim he was a member of the British Olympic bobsled team, or that he played for a Welsh rugby team against the All Blacks.
Neither does he still claim an honorary doctorate in astronomy from Cambridge University, or a Master's in aerospace and astrophysics - qualifications presumably linked to untrue statements he designed the guidance system for the Polaris nuclear missile.
Wilce was sacked in 2010 after five years in his Defence Force role. The debacle was described at the time as "bloody embarrassing" by the then Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae.
Wilce's candidate biography is comparatively mundane, containing little more than a pitch for votes and "skills", on which he doesn't expand.
It says he moved to the Far North 10 years ago - more likely nine years after his outing as a fantasist - and had since owned and operated businesses in Paihia and Kaikohe.
"I love Northland and am passionate about working with our community to create further growth and sustainability.
"I want to see the council making a real positive impact on infrastructure, business development and community. I believe I can make a difference."
Beyond this, it was difficult to find evidence of Wilce's efforts to convince voters.
He was absent at the Sunday gathering of council candidates at Waipapa's Pioneer Tavern. Inquiries by the Herald found he was unable to attend because he was in the middle of a two-week holiday in Rarotonga.
Efforts to contact Wilce there were unsuccessful. He has not responded to calls, text messages or emails.
Other candidates were bemused by his approach to campaigning. Of those interviewed, none had seen him at any events or were aware of his background.
Those who were current councillors said they had never seen him at council meetings over the past three years.
Mayor John Carter, who was a minister in government in 2010, said he had only a passing recollection of the scandal.
"We've got a few interesting candidates," he said. It is the most contested election in the Far North district's history, with 90 candidates standing for 29 positions. Of those, 10 are competing against Carter for the job of Mayor.
Among those is Belinda Ward, who is seeking re-election as the Paihia representative to the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board. Along with standing for council, Wilce is her only opponent for the single position available.
"He hasn't been at any of the meetings I've been aware of," she said. "I haven't seen or heard from Steve. In fact, a lot of people have asked who he is."
Wilce managed the hotel once called the Nautilus in Waitangi, telling Kaikohe's Rotary Club he left there in 2013.
Steve Wilce during a talk to the Rotary Club at Kaikohe in 2016. Photo / Supplied
Notes of his 2016 address to the club, after he moved to Kaikohe to run a winery, included recording: "Most of his career has been spent in defence industries, including five years working in Australia's Hunter Valley."
Wilce was fired from a Hunter Valley-based company called PowerServe in 2003 after nine months in the job. The inquiry into his Defence Force role quoted the company as saying "he could not do the job (and) did not meet expectations".
Over last summer, Wilce and his partner sold the winery and their Kaikohe home - after releasing a caveat placed on it by a finance company - and bought a small unit in Paihia.
Far North district councillors earn $45,500 a year. Community board members get $12,000 a year, although the chair of the board picks up $30,600.
A recent ombudsman report into transparency processes at the council included a public survey which was found to "suggest a significant lack of trust in the council and a strong perception that the council has little interest in making information available to the public or being accountable".
