Napier Mayor Bill Dalton.
The region's amalgamation debate is reaching a fever pitch, as a decision on the merger is now just two weeks away.
Pro-amalgamation lobby group A Better Hawke's Bay (ABHB) was slammed by three of the region's four local mayors this week, for a campaign advertisement featured in Hawke's Bay Today.
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said the ad, which listed a number of ideas people would like to see realised under a new, unified council, was the product of a baseless marketing campaign.
But ABHB chairman Rebecca Turner accused Mr Dalton of "making unhealthy remarks about what people thought long and hard about".
Arguments for the merger often cite a need for a coherent regional plan, more effective lobbying of central government, and less red tape for local businesses.
