Gore councillors call for deputy to stand down as NZ’s youngest mayor on leave

A requisition has been signed by seven Gore District councillors calling for the removal of Stewart MacDonell as deputy mayor.

The document is signed by council chief executive Stephen Parry as being received at 4pm on Tuesday, the same time new mayor Ben Bell chaired his first council meeting.

MacDonell told the Otago Daily Times he did not want to get political about the issue.

“We need to resolve this amongst ourselves.”

Mayor Ben Bell, 23, is reportedly on leave until Monday and could not be reached for comment, but had said when announcing MacDonell’s appointment earlier this month that he was confident in his leadership skills, most notably as president of the Gore Rotary Club.

“Stewart has a wealth of knowledge and experience in finances which will be an asset in getting the council back to basics.

“[He] will be more than capable in helping me lead the Gore District Council in the direction our community needs.”

An extraordinary council meeting will take place on December 15 for councillors to consider the requisition and vote on the removal of MacDonell as deputy mayor.

The councillors who signed the requisition calling for MacDonell’s removal were Glenys Dickson, Bronwyn Reid, Richard McPhail, Paul McPhail, Neville Phillips, Bret Highsted and Joe Stringer, who stood for council on Bell’s Team Hokonui ticket.

A new deputy mayor will be elected if a majority agrees.