Old friction resurfaces in Waiheke row

Waiheke Island. Photo / Natalie Slade

The Super City has not even started and "utu" has been dished out on the Waiheke Local Board.

Faye Storer has gathered the numbers to become chairwoman of the board, despite Denise Roche winning the ballot by a large margin and expressing a desire to lead the board.

Bad blood between the two women goes back to the 2007 local body elections when Ms Roche beat Ms Storer for the Gulf Island seat on the Auckland City Council.

Ms Roche said Ms Storer had snubbed her for the past three years.

Secret talks with the other three board members "allocating the role of chair to Faye and deputy chair to Jo [Holmes]" were an act of utu, said the city councillor, who is of Tainui, Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Huri descent.

Ms Roche, who received 2239 votes for the board, 394 more than Ms Storer, has emailed Waiheke Islanders saying her local board colleagues "don't share your confidence".

"It saddens me that at a time of incredible opportunity with the new council and local board structure our brand new elected board members are kicking things off without the slightest nod to a transparent decision-making process," the email said.

She said that at an informal meeting of board members last Thursday to discuss portfolio roles and who would be the chair and deputy chair, "Faye handed me a sheet of paper listing all the roles which they had already divvied up between the five of us".

"It was the way the decision was made, rather than the results, that concerns me most," Ms Roche said.

The five board members are Ms Roche, Ms Storer, Jo Holmes, Jim Hannan and Don McKenzie. None is a current community board members, except Ms Roche who as a city councillor sits on the board.

Ms Storer said council staff asked board members were asked to sort out the chair and deputy chair roles before the first meeting on November 6.

"It was fairly obvious I had the support of four out of five people and Denise had the support of herself," she said.

" When that is translated into a vote it is clear where it is going to."

Ms Storer said it was appalling for Ms Roche to accuse her of utu.

Ms Roche emailed the other board members proposing a "facilitated discussion" to revisit the decision on the roles but by late yesterday she said she had received no responses.