Mayor v Deputy
April 16th, 2011 at 8:25 am by David FarrarDave Brugess at the Dom Post reports:
Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown has accused Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon of betrayal in a furious rant in the public reception area of the city council’s offices.
The minute-long verbal spray on Thursday was aimed at Mr McKinnon for supporting calls for an extraordinary meeting of the council to confirm its full support for $2.4 billion of government roading projects.
Ms Wade-Brown had already told councillors that she would schedule a meeting within six weeks. But nine councillors, including Mr McKinnon, sped up the process by signing a resolution forcing the council to schedule the meeting for Wednesday.
The transport issues loom as the biggest threat to the leadership of Ms Wade-Brown, who does not support big roading projects, since she took office six months ago.
The reality is that Celia is in a minority on her own Council on transport issues. The NZTA has warned funding is at risk if the Council keeps sending mixed messages, so the Council is acting to make its formal position clear.
Ms Wade-Brown’s flash of fury after the committee meeting in the council offices was seen by councillors, staff and members of the public. One witness said: “She just totally lost her rag.”
A source said: “Everybody is talking about it in the council building. It is the only topic of conversation.”
Witnesses said Mr McKinnon appeared incandescent with rage at the public dressing-down as Ms Wade-Brown accused him of betrayal for not trying to stop councillors from setting up the meeting, and for supporting it himself
Ian McKinnon made clear when he became Deputy Mayor that he would vote with his conscience on policy issues – and this is a policy issue.
Councillor John Morrison said Mr McKinnon had worked tirelessly to help maintain the integrity of the office of the mayor.
“So for him to be attacked in public and accused of being disloyal to the mayor is totally out of order.”
Councillor Ray Ahipene-Mercer, who saw the mayor’s outburst, said: “It was an aggressive confrontation in a public arena.
“It was inappropriate because staff, visitors and the public were present. The deputy mayor tried to reason with her but was unsuccessful.”
Celia is very silly in attacking Ian like this. Ian is an old fashioned gentleman who has gone out of his way as Deputy Mayor to protect Celia. He has told numerous people that he doesn’t want people to attack her personally or portray her as unsuited to the office, as she deserves respect as the incumbent. He has said that any opposition should be to her policies (when warranted), not to her personally.
I doubt Ian will hold a grudge – he isn’t like that. But if I was Celia, I’d consider apologising. Having a public slanging match with your deputy in such a public area will not engender confidence in her – and it may especially make her Council colleagues less supportive.
Related posts:
- A good call from Celia
- Again good moves from Mayor Celia
- Who will be Deputy Mayor of Auckland?
- An engaging Mayor
April 16th, 2011 at 8:36 am
We must be due for a comment from toad defending the indefensible.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Clearly she is not ready for the responsibilities her office demands of her. Good on the Deputy Mayor for his handling of the situation.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Ian McKinnon made clear when he became Deputy Mayor that he would vote with his conscience on policy issues – and this is a policy issue.
Why would any politician ever say that? It means you can’t make a deal with them.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 8:47 am
Typical lefty mayor. She’ll be a one termer. What a fool she is.
Excellent.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 8:48 am
David, on a completely unrelated topic, I have to say the NetHui advertising is pretty awful. The message being conveyed is that the NetHui is an attempt to collectivise the internet in some sense. “Help share our future together”? Um, no thanks. I hope the message in the ads is inconsistent with the conference itself, because if the aim of the conference is to come up with a set of rules on any aspect of the internet, however collectively pure and wonderful, then it can f*** off.
[DPF: Can't say I've looked at the adverts closely, but absolutely it is not about a set of rules on the Internet]
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 8:58 am
Leave ‘old fashioned’ out of ‘gentleman’. Ian is a gentleman – end of matter. And an experienced cat-herder, honed by years as a headmaster (or deputy) in schools with demanding stakeholders.
I think that the Mayor was expecting loyalty on a personal basis from Ian, Ian’s loyalty is to the Office of Mayor, the Council and the City. I suspect her fury was that she misjudged the moods of councillors and did not see it coming. That outburst has confirmed her as a ‘lame duck’ Mayor. She is likely to be turfed out by ‘other people’ in 2 1/2 years time (Owen McShane refers to ‘other people’ as the intended users of public transport where the promoters ie the typical Green have no intention of using it)
Of course this is not the first time a council has had effectively a lame duck Mayor. Dick Hubbard in Auckland was in this category, so was John Kennedy-Good in Lower Hutt for a three year term years ago. Another Council directed its CEO not to meet the Mayor’s requests for Council information (although that would have been an unlawful direction to some extent).
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Why is anybody surprised at the actions of Comrade Wade-Brown?, she is a Green and therefore she will do anything possible to stop new roads. Of course she will never actually admit it, that is not the way of the Greens.
Nope, she will hide behind double speak and delaying tactics until it is too late.
Mind you……serves the stupid people of Wellington right, enough of them (although not a majority) were dumb enough to vote for this communist moonbat.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Poor old Welly town, obviously their agenda driven mayor has zero comprehension of the difference between Brown the occupier of the office and the actual office as an entity allied with people skills that are seriously deficient
Vote:Loyalty is a two way street and her rant at Mckinnon clearly indicates, in spite of her proclaimed opposition to growing public transport, a marked preference for a one way street.
What is it with Brown Mayors? or should that read Mayors Brown.
April 16th, 2011 at 9:39 am
This is a great pity as she has started out so well. She simply has to allow the democratic process to continue even on something you feel so passionate about. But she and her green friends should realise that public transport requires buses and buses require roads. No other public transport option is viable in any NZ City. She could of course resign if she feels so strongly about this. And playing the victim and being grossly disloyal herself does not help the Mayor one little bit.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:43 am
Celia Wade Brown is just the Biggest Loser. She won the mayoralty under STV voting and has no real support in Council. Wellington cannot allow this one term voting aberration to derail Wellington getting access to $2,400,000,000 road building. She will learn that she is not the dictator of Wellington. She is just one lone vote of opposition to progress. Hopefully the 20% of Well Cenrtral voters who voted Party Vote Green in 2008 will have their eyes opened and not make the same mistake again.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:44 am
One can of course idly speculate what Ms Wade-Brown’s reaction would have been had Mr. McKinnon politely suggest that she get ‘on her bike’ – the first ‘Green’ in orbit perhaps?
On a more serious note, Ms W-B is merely exhibiting the usual socialist reaction to anyone who dares suggest that they are/may be wrong. In the old USSR it was rifles at 50-paces or the Gulag, in NZ, it’s a public tirade and attempt to ‘dress-down’ the offender in front of the largest number of people, and so garner the greatest humilation on the perceived malcontent. Nothing changes, and as we see. the socialist ‘leopard’ has not changed its spots – it is STILL about control and ‘Me’, since after all only ‘I ‘ know what is best for you. (Sound familiar – it was nine years after all. . .?)
Kudos to Mr, McKinnon, and Wellington, my favourite city, you have my sympathy
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:45 am
gravedodger – The Auckland Supercity Mayor is not to be confused with other Mayors. Len has various executive powers vested by legislation and a significant ‘office’ budget. Any other Mayor effectively has zilch power and is dependent on Council.
It is not poor Welly town, things will carry on in spite of the Mayor who will be out on her ear in three years time.
Interestingly, Mark Blumsky as Mayor some years back was faced with being left high and dry. However through good diplomacy got a majority of Councillors on his side and governed successfully for three years. This included three ‘Labour’ councillors and left the local Labour committee spitting tacks.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:52 am
The Wade-Brown mask of London-born gentility and Green tolerance and inclusiveness and niceness has slipped off quickly.
I heard her talking to Larry Williams last evening. It was not nice: lecturing, shrill, stressed, nasal, and very, very cross.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:52 am
It’s really poor form to act like that in public and probably leaves Celia WB open to a code of conduct complaint. However, I’ve seen another local body politician lay into another because he changed his vote in the month from the first discussion to the formal meeting where the decision was taken and because of it, everyone now backs him when they clash. Celia WB may find it difficult to work with other councillors now.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:03 am
I have to concur with the comments here. What did anyone expect. Greens are communist luddites, and are always happy to use executive power to compel others.
Stop them and you get this sort of nonsense. I guess poor Ian is now racist, sexist, and is personally destroying Gaia for his pains now. He’d best be careful he doesnt get sent to re-education camp to confess his revisionist tendencies.
Still its important that we get to have a good hard look at what Greens actually DO when in office rather than the sanctimonious blather they spout when they don’t have any actual power. Most instructive.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:10 am
Does anyone know what time the meeting and fireworks kick off? This could be just so much fun.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Hi Ben
Vote:On your NetHui question. I wouldn’t blame David for the ad content, as InternetNZ has placed them (across a variety of sites).
InternetNZ is about protecting and promoting the Internet and keeping it open and uncapturable. The particular ad you mention says help shape, not help share, and is about getting everyone involved in thinking about the big Internet issues arising – business, individuals, govt, stakeholder groups.
The other ads provocatively say:
Should government censor the Internet? (referring to centralised filtering)
Do politicians “get” the Internet? (pertinent given the copyright debate this week)
Be heard, listen, learn, connect (can’t be much wrong with that!)
Is the Internet the “Wild West” (a reference to Simon Power’s statement last year)
I hope that puts your mind at rest. Feel free to check out http://www.nethui.org.nz for the draft list of topics.
Regards, Richard (NetHui organiser)
April 16th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Did it happen to be caught on video? It would make wonderful telly around the time of the General Election to remind people what the Greens are like
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:34 am
Andrew Williams, come meet your long lost sister!
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:39 am
One commenter mentioned that Celia Wade-Brown had been too tired from so much cycling, and that might excuse her.
Vote:That comment reminded me of a local stock feed supplier’s radio advertisements.
The stock feed supplier said that his feeds would get your cows cycling better than Lance Armstrong.
I expect a similar outburst from Celia in four weeks time.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:40 am
This shouldnt be any surprise to anyone (the mayor’s outburst)
Zealots (and she is an environmental zealot with very left leanings) always know that they know best…..
and they think that anyone who opposes them are wrong.
She ACTUALLY belives that Wellington needs better roads like Wellingtonians need another hole in the head.!! And she believes this with religious zealotry, and it never enters her head that she could be wrong.
Thus she attacked the deputy in the belief that she is totally right and that everyone is on her side.
What we need is a few more of these types so that we can all see how they think – then we will never hear from them again.
Idiots…..
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:50 am
@ tvb: yes, a pity.
A pity too that just one of the 8 (or is it 9?) Mayors in the Wellington Region seems to think that her personal opinion is more important than all the others. It’s appalling that the region (and the nation) risks losing $2.4bn for the “Road of National Significance” between Levin and WLG Airport. The greatest cost is for Transmission Gully, not one inch of which is in the Wellington City area. How dare she try to ruin things for everyone else?
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:56 am
The DomPost today’s editorial is highly critical of the Luddite mayor, who will be thrown out at the next election.
Vote:Celia Wade-Brown is unfit for office. Period.
April 16th, 2011 at 11:00 am
I also heard the Larry Williams interview with this woman. My reaction was Jeez I thought the Auckland Mayor was a nutcase but this woman is as mad as that Delahunty woman. It puts any prospect of a Wellington Supercity on the backburner, maybe a blessing.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Oh dear, this is a very telling window into what the world would be like with Greenie’s in charge.
She should live or work between Levin & Otaki for a time when there’s a major event going on in Wellington…..she’ll find out very quickly why the need for Transmission Gully & the other connecting roads was overdue about 3 decades back!
She’s not up to it.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
No doubt the anti Wade-Brown brigade will rant and rave about “bad form” and “old fashioned gentlemen” but Celia’s opposition to roading projects is well known, so nothing is really changed. I will continue to vote for her on that basis, and no doubt new roads will be constructed anyway because the majority seem to want them. So what is all the fuss about?
It’s not only the left who believe themselves to be always right by the way.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
mikesh,
So you hold her behaviour as acceptable and sufficiently befitting her position as mayor?
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Sounds a very disappointing rant from someone who should know better.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
What is it with you people who live in the big smokes, are you masochists ? Do you enjoy the grief ? Is it the name Brown that gets you going ?.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
“mikesh,
So you hold her behaviour as acceptable and sufficiently befitting her position as mayor?”
Probably not, but I don’t see the sky falling in.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Clearly Mayor Celia Wade-Brown is confusing her own political agenda with the councils transport goals which over time will become problematical in that the Mayor will find it difficult to take the the decisions that will benefit Wellington.
Vote:April 16th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
“Clearly Mayor Celia Wade-Brown is confusing her own political agenda with the councils transport goals which over time will become problematical in that the Mayor will find it difficult to take the the decisions that will benefit Wellington.”
She has an “agenda” while the council has “goals”. I see. It’s amazing what one can do with words, isn’t it.
Vote:April 17th, 2011 at 8:09 am
What a complete bloody nut case this person is!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vote:What were the voters thinking, you only have to listen to her for 5 mins and you can tell she has IQ problems.
Still you get the governance you deserve,so suck it rate payers.
April 17th, 2011 at 8:27 am
mikesh,
“Probably not, but I don’t see the sky falling in.”
I don’t see any claims of the sky falling. What has that got to do with the mayor’s behaviour?
As to your agreement that her behaviour was “probably not” beftting of her position, you would also agree then that she must take care to change her behaviour if she wishes to continue to represent the city of Wellington in that role. She could probably start with a public apology to the Deputy Mayor (showing genuine contrition.)
Vote:April 17th, 2011 at 10:28 am
This woman is a classic female manager .
Unable to deal with a situation she explodes into inappropriate hissy fits.
I had a manager like her a few years ago, and she was destructive to the organisation. Perfectly capable people were fired by this woman for what were ultimately her own failures.
These types of women cement their power base through a few carefully selected high level friends but are widely disliked by the rest of the staff.
Vote:April 17th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I cannot believe that Toad has not rushed to this stupid bints defence…is Toad away?
Vote: