Whanganui's former mayor Hamish McDouall recalls the highs and lows of public office. Photo / Bevan Conley
Following last month's election loss, Hamish McDouall speaks to Liz Wylie about his six years as mayor, and what's next for him.
Hamish McDouall says he is out but not down after losing the Whanganui mayoralty.
McDouall wanted a third term, but after losing last month's election to newcomer Andrew Tripe, he now has to find something else to keep him occupied.
And the first thing on his list is to move house.
"I'm quite relieved, in a way... there's so much to do."
McDouall and his wife Elinor Harvey McDouall are putting their semi-rural home in Westmere on the market and moving to a bungalow in Gonville.
"It's hard to leave at this time of year when the property is at its most beautiful but living in town will be better for our kids in terms of getting to school and accessing all the things they want to do."
McDouall's children Bede and Elise have grown into teenagers while their father has been serving as mayor.
When asked about his next move on the work front, McDouall was playing his cards close to his chest and would only say that he had received an "interesting call" after the election results were announced last month and he was considering his next move.
He has a few strings to his bow as a qualified lawyer, former journalist and published author. There are more books in the pipeline but he's not planning to return to law practice at this stage.
McDouall won the mayoralty in the 2016 election with 6724 votes after spending two terms as a councillor, one of which he served as deputy mayor to Annette Main.
In 2019, he was re-elected unopposed.
Asked if he had his sights set on the mayoralty when he was first elected to the council in 2010, McDouall said he had not.
He had aspirations to represent his home town in central government and stood as the Labour candidate for Whanganui in three elections.
In 2014, he received a respectable 14,144 votes which were not enough to beat popular National incumbent Chester Borrows who was returned with 18,649 votes.
McDouall said two of the toughest decisions the council had faced during his mayoralty were the replacement of the wastewater treatment plant in 2016 and the velodrome project which was voted down at last year's long-term plan deliberations.
"The treatment plant was something we needed and the velodrome was something that some people wanted.
"I believe the right decisions were made in both instances."
After he was first elected mayor in 2016, McDouall told the Chronicle that the community needed everyone to be ambassadors for the city and the district and the council would take a lead in getting that message across.
"As mayor, I will demand respectful communication from councillors, whether that's councillor to councillor or councillor to staff or the general public, in formal meetings, by email or on social media."
Reflecting on those words this week, McDouall said he appreciated the efforts that councillors had made over the majority of his two terms.
"I am disappointed that over the last 18 months, some councillors and some members of the public have failed to maintain that cordiality. Disagreement is no excuse to resort to some of the vitriol I have been targeted with – respectful discourse is essential to local democracy," he said.
Along with the stressful aspects of the job, McDouall said there had been many memorable experiences he will always be grateful for such as visiting Whanganui's sister cities Nagaizumi in Japan and Lijiang Lijiang in China.
"Taking Whanganui to the world and welcoming people from around the world to Whanganui have been fantastic experiences," he said.
"I really enjoyed meeting Israel Adesanya when he was here and welcoming new citizens and international students have been great experiences. There have been so many memorable moments and I will probably reflect on them for years to come."
McDouall recalls the experienced councillors who supported him when he was first elected to council in 2010.
"Annette Main of course and late councillors Sue Westwood and Rangi Wills were both generous in sharing their wisdom.
"It was Sue who first encouraged me to stand for mayor."
McDouall had praise for councillors who had served with him and said he was pleased that some had been re-elected.
"Kate Joblin has always been a calm, intelligent voice at the table and I know she will continue to drive the council's housing strategy. Alan Taylor's knowledge and push for a climate change strategy provided immense value and I know he'll be an asset to Horizons Regional Council," he said.
"Helen Craig has great governance abilities and her passion for heritage and the town centre regeneration will continue to serve Whanganui well I'm sure. I'm pleased for Jenny [Duncan] and of course, Josh [Chandulal Mackay] has been amazing and Peter Oskham with all his community board experience. I think the other new councillors will also do great work for Whanganui."
Main was the first woman elected as the district's mayor in 2010 and was re-elected in 2013 with a sizeable majority over former mayor Michael Laws.
She wanted to step aside in 2016 but said she would not have felt able to do that without knowing that McDouall was willing to stand in her place.
"When stepping down as mayor after two terms, I was pleased that Hamish was willing to take my place," said Main.
"With projects like the port and Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment underway and the wastewater treatment plant replacement close to a final decision, there was renewed confidence in Whanganui and I was confident that he would be able to maintain the momentum."
Despite winning the mayoralty with over 39 per cent of the vote and 2900 more votes than that of his nearest rival Alan Taylor, McDouall faced some serious challenges in the early days of his first term as mayor.
A block of councillors raised objections to the wastewater treatment plant proposal and it looked like the new mayor would be working with a divided council. The new plant proposal got over the line and has been functioning efficiently since 2017.
Josh Chandulal Mackay, elected as a 21-year-old in 2016, said he felt "incredibly green" and the contentious decision on replacing the failed wastewater treatment plant at the cost of over $4m seemed extremely daunting.
"Hamish told me to call him anytime if there were things I didn't understand and said he would always answer.
"He was true to his word and I have learned so much from him over six years."
Chandulal Mackay said McDouall's understanding of local government, his legal expertise and his dedication to Whanganui had been invaluable.
"His understanding of the parameters of local government responsibilities meant that he would never overstep his own or the council's authority for the sake of political gain."
McDouall's ability to practice democracy and bring divided factions together within the council had really impressed the young councillor.
"He didn't take things personally and he was able to recognise everyone's strengths," Chandulal Mackay said.
"The fact that he appointed Helen Craig and Alan Taylor, who had both stood against him, to chair committees that suited their experience and expertise demonstrated his humility."
Chandulal-Mackay also commended McDouall's work with the Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust.
"Hamish's knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi has enabled so much good dialogue and work towards a settlement."
Chandulal-Mackay said he had only one criticism of McDouall as mayor.
"This will come as no surprise to him as it's something I've often pestered him about and that was to increase his social media presence," he said.
"It's something I have urged all councillors to do because it makes for better connections with the community. A lot of people don't find local government very accessible so if they can ask a question online and get an immediate answer, they are generally satisfied."
Chandulal-Mackay said McDouall had been an unfailingly good ambassador for Whanganui.
Main also praised McDouall for his support of Whanganui on the national and international stage.
"I am sure he is disappointed not to be able to see us through the current reforms ... but I know he will, like me, remain one of Whanganui's most passionate advocates," she said.
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