Gore mayor stands by his man

Gore District mayor Ben Bell, left, with appointed Gore District deputy mayor Cr Stewart MacDonell. Photo / Sandy Eggleston

Gore Mayor Ben Bell’s choice of deputy may be overturned by his fellow councillors, but the 23-year-old is sticking to his guns.

He appointed second-term councillor Stewart MacDonell as deputy mayor on November 9, but seven of the Gore District’s other 10 councillors have filed to have him removed via a requisition.

Council chief executive Stephen Parry, who signed the document as being received at 4pm last Tuesday, said even though it was Bell’s right to appoint Cr MacDonell, the deputy mayor had to have the support of the majority of councillors to retain office.

In a press release sent out yesterday afternoon, Bell said it was disappointing to have Cr MacDonell’s appointment challenged in such a short space of time.

“I consider Cr MacDonell a respected and capable member of our team, who is committed to getting good things done in our community.”

Councillors Richard McPhail, Bronwyn Reid, Paul McPhail, Bret Highsted, Joe Stringer, Neville Phillips and Glenys Dickson, who all signed the requisition to have Cr MacDonell removed as deputy mayor, released a joint statement on Friday.

“We believe our new mayor deserves strong support and guidance,” they said.

“Unfortunately, we have had to take this course of action to achieve that.

“The decision came after much deliberation and attempts to work collaboratively to provide the best governance structure for our community.”

It is not the first time Bell has failed to get the support of councillors after they opposed his application for a personal assistant at a full council meeting last Tuesday.

Bell told the Otago Daily Times afterwards that he had been prepared to discuss the issue “out in the open, rather than behind closed doors”.

It seems that this time, though, Cr MacDonell’s fate could be decided away from the public eye.

An extraordinary council meeting is scheduled to take place on December 15 for councillors to vote on the removal of Cr MacDonell.

However, Bell said in yesterday’s press release that they would meet before then “to reflect on the challenge of deputy mayor”.

“I will refrain from commenting further on the deputy mayor’s position until we have had that conversation as a team,” Bell said.