Editorial: Perfect pick as deputy

Dave Donaldson and Steve Chadwick.

Rotorua not only has a new mayor but also a new deputy to back her up.

Steve Chadwick has picked Dave Donaldson to be her deputy mayor, wasting no time to make changes at the top.

This on top of the council recently appointing a new chief executive in Geoff Williams and the top tier of the Rotorua District Council is starting to have a fresh feel.

It can almost be consolation for there only being three new councillors on the team - Tania Tapsell, Peter Bentley and Rob Kent. Plenty of people wanted to see more new faces, but that's democracy for you.

While it's sad to see the forever smiling Trevor Maxwell demoted from his role of deputy mayor, Mr Donaldson's appointment is a great move by Mrs Chadwick. There's few people respected more in this city than the former policeman. He's the type of bloke everyone loves, but he's no pushover. He works hard, knows his stuff and loves this city. He deserves this promotion.

I was yarning to a police friend of mine and Mr Donaldson's promotion to deputy mayor came up. She was rapt. She said when he was her boss, he was the sort of cop you'd do anything for, not because you felt you had to, but because "it was Dave". He had such mana.

Mr Maxwell has been our deputy mayor for 11 years and he hasn't put a foot wrong. He was always loyal to former mayors Grahame Hall and Kevin Winters and did a remarkable job filling in.

He hasn't been dumped, which is nice to see. Mrs Chadwick will instead create a new role for him as cultural ambassador, a perfect fit if you ask me. And in true Maxwell style, he's embracing his new role with a big smile.