Gore Mayor Ben Bell. Photo / Supplied
Two former mayors have weighed in on the ongoing saga between Gore Mayor Ben Bell and Gore District Council chief executive Steve Parry, with both agreeing it’s too early for commissioners to become involved - but it’s not out of the question.
Bell was elected as Gore’s mayor in October 2022, ousting Tracy Hicks after 12 years in the job. Aged 23 at the time, Bell became the youngest mayor in New Zealand and also attracted attention for winning by just eight votes.
However, it has been a tense time for Bell and his fellow councillors since, starting with his nomination for deputy mayor being rejected and developing into a standoff between the mayor and Parry, with an intermediary now being appointed to manage their relationship.
The topic was the first on the agenda in a panel discussion between former Wellington mayor Justin Lester and former Porirua City mayor Nick Leggett on this week’s episode of On the Tiles - Local Edition.
Speaking to host Georgina Campbell, Lester, who was Wellington Mayor between 2016 and 2019, said that it is hard when a new mayor comes in and replaces a well-respected and long serving mayor like Hicks.
“They’ll need to get a circuit breaker in place, be that via a review, a facilitator to help bring the councillors together with the mayor, and if this doesn’t happen, that could in fact lead to a commissioner or [Bell] could resign.
“I was concerned when I saw some comments by the mayor, stating or referring to himself in the third person as his mayor. That’s never a good sign,” Lester said.
“The first rule in politics is you need to learn to count. If you don’t have your council on board, you can’t do anything.
Leggett, who held the youngest mayor title when he was elected in 2010, said that while much of the attention has been on Bell in this saga, more focus should be on Parry’s tenure.
“Actually in these cases, it’s not the mayor that goes, it’s the chief executive. The thing we’ve got to remember, these things are topsy turvy with these issues in New Zealand - I see it in government as well.
“The public’s only ability to influence is who they elect. And whether you agree with that person or you don’t, they’re the person that can influence the decisions on your behalf and they’re elected to represent citizens. There is too much power, in my view in unelected local government managers, and that came about because of the 1989 reforms that really instilled a corporate governance model into local. And what we’ve seen is a loss of power by elected officials, progressively.
“There are a lot of councils where the unelected managers run the place and the politicians just do what they’re told. We ask ourselves, why has turnout dropped like a stone really in over successive elections? My view is because voters don’t feel they actually have much influence and that elected members are seen to be pretty powerless.”
Leggett said that while Bell may be seen as “wet behind the ears”, he was actually elected and that should be remembered as the first principle.
Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty has said that it is too early to bring commissioners into the case, and both Legget and Lester agree.
“We don’t want to go on and change mayors out or chief executives or appoint commissioners at the first sign of trouble. If we did that, we’d do the same for Parliament on a regular, if not weekly, basis,” Legget said.
Listen to the full episode for more on Bell, Auckland Council’s decision to leave Local Government New Zealand, and on the local councillors vying for central government electorate seats.
On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays.