Allegations of 'Trump-style' politics in coup to oust community board chairwoman
Allegations of “Trump-style” politics and “despicable” actions have beset a Christchurch community board as members of the Labour-aligned People’s Choice move to oust the board’s chairwoman.
Five People’s Choice members of the Waikura/Linwood-Central-Heathcote board – including city councillors Jake McLellan and Yani Johanson – have written to Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale outlining their intention to hold a vote on November 30 to remove chairwoman Alexandra Davids.
The move came less than a month after People’s Choice member Sunita Gautam was elected to the board in a by-election following the death of long-time member Sally Buck.
Gautam’s win gives People’s Choice a majority on the nine-person board. The Local Government Act says a vote to remove a chairperson can be called for if the majority of members support it.
Buck stepped down from the chairwoman role in April and one of her last actions was to vote for Davids as her replacement as chairwoman.
McLellan said Davids and many other members always understood another vote would be needed after the by-election.
But Davids and the other three independent members on the board – Cr Sara Templeton, Tim Lindley and Darrell Latham – said there was no such understanding.
Templeton labelled the antics as nothing more than “people playing politics” when they should be getting on with the job of advocating on behalf of the community.
Latham said he was “saddened and incredibly disappointed” in the actions of the other five board members.
“This Trump, ‘lets roll them’, political style has no place nor is it befitting of a community board working to do the best for the Linwood-Central-Heathcote communities.”
Lindley said the actions of the five were “despicable and disgraceful”.
He had high expectations of Davids and she had exceeded those, he said.
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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40.8% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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57.4% No, I enjoy it
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1.8% Other - I'll share below
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If you’ve been thinking about trying it, check their bookings there are sometimes a few midweek tables available.
A great excuse for a date night or catching up with friends over something a bit special.
Poll: 🪰 Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing the existing infrastructure?
As reported in the Press, the debate over the Bromley odour continues. Recently, a Bypass Plan has been proposed as a potential solution - this involves pumping sewage into the sea. However, official technical, scientific, and environmental reports on this plan and how it may impact the Canterbury region aren't finished yet.
Before we get the final word from the consultants, we want to know what the community thinks about the allocation of rates and resources.
We want to know: Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing and upgrading the existing infrastructure?
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7.8% Research the Bypass
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84.4% Fix Existing Infrastructure
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7.8% Undecided/Need more info
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