Talia Harvey says she has been bullied during her campaign for the Tauranga City Council by-election. Photo/Andrew Warner
Talia Harvey says she has been bullied during her campaign for the Tauranga City Council by-election. Photo/Andrew Warner
Tauranga's by-election has taken a nasty turn with two candidates accusing each other of campaign bullying, including an allegation of Facebook impersonation.
First-time candidate Talia Harvey has alleged Hamilton-based candidate Robert Curtis has "bullied" her on social media to the point where planned to make a police complaint.
Curtis said that accusation was the "pot calling the kettle black" and that Harvey told people he had behaved in a "criminal manner", which was also bullying.
The electoral officer running the Tauranga City Council by-election, Warwick Lampp, said the issue had been raised with him but, in his view, there had been no breach of election legislation.
"There are no rules around candidate behaviour. My advice to candidates is that if you believe someone has defamed you, you should seek your own legal advice."
Harvey claimed Curtis had allegedly impersonated her on social media by setting up a "Talia Harvey Tauranga Unofficial" Facebook page and writing posts that "twisted" her words in a manner that she believed was made to sound like she wrote them.
Curtis refused to say whether or not he was behind the page, which was no longer active, but said from the word "unofficial" in the title it did not sound like the page was pretending to be written by Harvey.
His reason for not commenting was that he understood a complaint may be made to the police, which was the right agency to deal with it - not the media, he said.
Curtis did claim credit for a new page launched in the past couple of days called "Critique of Talia Harvey Tauranga" which had posted twice about Harvey's statement that she was a chartered accountant.
Tauranga City Council by-election candidate Robert Curtis says he has also been bullied.
Curtis said he had made inquiries with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand to confirm Harvey's professional status but they had no record of any chartered accountants under the name Talia Harvey.
Harvey said she was campaigning under her maiden name and was chartered under her married name.
She posted a photo of a chartered accountant practising certificate with the first name Talia and the second name blacked out in response to a post by Curtis on her campaign Facebook page. The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend has also been forwarded an email from CAANZ confirming Harvey is a chartered accountant.
Harvey said she did not want to give Curtis the name she was chartered under as he had "done enough damage".
He said he could not understand why she was being so cagey about it.
Curtis' campaign platform included donating the majority of his council salary to Tauranga charities, and had a post on his Facebook page calling for people to "vote yes for playgrounds, better than a museum."
"A playground by the seaside needs a pirate ship."
Harvey had commented on a variety of local issues, including a few posts on the museum - she did not disagree with the museum, but has queried the cost and spoken out against the referendum under way about the issue.
Harvey said she had felt bullied by others during the campaign, and that some of the "personal attacks" she had received, particularly around her views on the museum, had shocked her.
She said she knew her views would be scrutinised but she did not expect the campaign to become "abusive".
Curtis said he had previously run for Hamilton City Council and had lost "at least two jobs" after people had complained to his bosses about opinions shared in the context of a campaign.
Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless. Photo/File
Mayor: stick to the issues
Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless has encouraged candidates to "stick to the issues".
Brownless, a veteran of seven elections, of which he was successful in six, said that with 20 candidates running, the competition was tough.
"When the competition is tough people sometimes resort to all sorts of things."
The mayor said it was not his role to get involved and that the council would work with whoever the voters elected.
While voters might like reading about personality clashes, he believed most people would rather the election was fought on the issues.
"I would encourage all candidates to stick to the issues and keep the personalities out of it as much as possible."
By-election
- Held to fill at-large seat left vacant by Gail McIntosh's death - 20 candidates in the running - Voting papers posted this week - Official polling day is May 1
