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Two Olympians-turned-councillors have gone head-to-head over how many months Manukau Mayor Len Brown should be given to recover from a massive heart attack.
Brown was in Auckland Hospital's intensive care unit yesterday after suffering a setback while recovering from bypass surgery.
At a council meeting last Thursday, John Walker backed a call to grant Brown six months' leave, saying the popular mayor shouldn't feel pressured to come back to work before he was fully recuperated.
But Dick Quax, who ran against Brown in last year's mayoral elections, initially objected, saying Brown's written request for two months' leave should be respected.
Walker said, "Len's been very sick. We didn't want him rushing back. He's the type of guy who would come back when he's not ready."
David Collings, who also ran against Brown last year, was the councillor who suggested the longer leave period. He described objections as nasty and not in goodwill.
"The council as a whole were kind of shocked. Their bottom lip dropped - 'is he really saying that?"'
Quax said he was only respecting Brown's wishes and his former adversary could have applied for an extension after two months.
"It certainly wasn't my intention, although my opponents would paint it as this, that I was trying to be niggardly. It's just that he didn't ask for six months, he asked for two months."
He said if anyone was politicking it was the councillors who second-guessed Brown, implying they didn't trust his judgment, and dismissed the affair as a storm in a teacup.
"I made a comment, as I am entitled to do, 'Maybe we should consider what Len wants'.
"To turn around and say that's mean-spirited is nonsense, because look at how I voted."
Quax and and another councillor, Michael Williams, both voted for the six-months option.
The stoush followed a fiercely fought fight for the mayoralty. Weeks before the election, Collings quit his campaign and in a surprise move threw his weight behind Brown, accusing the party backing Quax of playing "bad, bad politics".
Brown collapsed onstage while giving the opening address at the Pacific Music Awards on May 31.
He had an emergency procedure 11 days ago after a setback.
Acting Mayor Gary Troup said yesterday doctors were keeping Brown in intensive care to closely monitor his condition and lower his chances of developing an infection.
