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Video / SailGP / Supplied / NZHerald
An investigation has found Dunedin’s mayor has brought himself and the city council into disrepute over his comments regarding the Strath Taieri race row.
A parallel investigation has found city councillor Carmen Houlahan has also brought herself into disrepute over multiple “unacceptable” texts to fellow councillor Sophie Barker.
An investigator found they both breached the code of conduct and the Dunedin City Council accepted the findings.
Houlahan was asked to write a letter of apology. Radich had already publicly apologised for comments he made.
The breaches of the code were both considered to be material.
The complaint about Radich arose after an interview by Radio NN relating to the censure of Strath Taieri Community Board chairman Barry Williams for making a racist remark.
Investigator Jordan Boyle, a partner in Dyhrberg Drayton Employment Law, said Radich’s comments on the radio minimised Williams’ actions.
They also “ultimately led to the identification of the person who was subject to the comments from Williams”.
The council had discussed the censure of Williams in private to prevent that from happening.
“It is important for people who engage in processes like this to have confidence their information will be kept confidential, particularly when they could face negative consequences if this confidence is breached.”
Failure to keep the information confidential could bring both the mayor and council into disrepute, Boyle said.
He considered the behaviour brought both the mayor and the council into disrepute.
The complaint against the mayor had been laid by deputy mayor at the time Sophie Barker and councillor Jim O’Malley.
This led to a series of text messages from Houlahan to Barker.
Carmen Houlahan. Photo / Otago Daily Times
“Councill Barker found the texts to be aggressive, with their content having a devastating impact on her,” a report for the council said.
She did not accept a September 11 apology from Houlahan, as “it did not address the content of the texts, just the number”.
“An apology cannot undo the level of aggressive and continuous harassment over a period of nearly 24 hours.”
Among the commentary from Houlahan to Barker was disbelief she had complained about the mayor.
“I wish to move on from this and look forward to working positively with all my council colleagues in the new year.”
Barker said she was satisfied with the outcomes of both investigations, “which speak for themselves”.
“I believe wholeheartedly that it’s vitally important to be seen to uphold our code of conduct.
“I made a principled decision to follow my beliefs and values, including integrity, and this often has difficult consequences, including my resignation as deputy mayor.
“Obviously, this process took a personal toll and has been a challenging couple of months to get through, so I’m relieved it’s cleared up before Christmas.”
