Scandal, division and rumours - Gore District Council's tumultuous term
"The first year was a shambles. It was an absolute shambles - a train wreck."
Former Gore mayor Tracy Hicks doesn't mince his words in assessing the reign of his successor.
Hicks, a six-term incumbent, lost the mayoralty to then-23-year-old Ben Bell
by only eight votes
in October 2022.
About 100 voting papers were left blank and more than 4300 eligible voters did not even bother.
The tight contest followed an election campaign described by one veteran councillor as the
ugliest he had witnessed
.
There were nasty rumours about salacious photos and Bell's sexuality, with mud slung at the opposing candidate by both camps.
Following his election, Bell and then-chief executive Stephen Parry shared a fractious relationship which left the men
unable to communicate without an intermediary
.
Gore Mayor Ben Bell.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
An
aborted vote of no confidence in Bell followed
, as did
petitions calling on Parry to resign
,
failed mediation
, and ultimately
Parry's resignation
and a
new chief executive being appointed
.
RNZ has attempted to speak to the key players of the past three years and everyday Gore residents.
Numerous attempts have been made to interview Bell about his first-term - even travelling to Gore to meet with him.
However, on the morning of the agreed interview, Bell pulled out at short notice; was unable or unwilling to re-schedule; and has not responded to subsequent efforts to make contact.
Parry told RNZ he has no interest in being interviewed on the situation either, saying: "I am enjoying a private life".
But Hicks and deputy mayor Keith Hovell have been happy to talk.
Hicks gives the current council a low four-out-of-ten for its performance under Bell.
"You've got to give credit to a number of the individuals around the council table who have done sterling work and never been appreciated for it - in my view anyway - but there are a number that I wouldn't give much credit," he says.
Without stating it explicitly, it seems Bell is not one of those whom he credits.
"I'm not sure - what's he achieved?" Hicks says.
"I've been thinking about that today - what has he achieved? I struggled to find anything concrete to point to and I guess I'm not surprised at that, because he came completely fresh to the scene and, like it or not, local government is quite a different beast and it's not a beast that moves quickly.
"So I do feel sorry for him and the fact that you can't make the changes you want quickly, but he promised changes and he promised a number of things along the way that - if I'm wrong, I'm wrong - but I don't see those changes happening."
Former Gore mayor Tracy Hicks was a six-term incumbent.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Hicks says if he had won a seventh term, the council would have been more functional and could have avoided reputational damage.
Under Bell's watch, rates have risen an average of 11 percent in 2023, 21 percent last year and 8.8 percent this year.
It is well in excess of the 5.9 percent, 8.2 percent and 5 percent for the three years prior, however, it is hardly Bell's fault alone and he even opposed the extent of this year's hike.
But Hicks says despite escalating rates hikes, the council is still spending far more than it brings in.
"Just looking at what the costs of the council have been over the last three years, they're extraordinary," he says.
"That really worries me because ... it's something like a 59 percent increase in costs, not in rates, but in costs. In my time I don't know of that ever happening here or anywhere. I think that is a really telling statistic on how the council is functioning."
But deputy mayor Keith Hovell, who is stepping aside from local politics after October's elections, does not shy away from the rates rises.
"We did what needed to be done to secure the financial stability of the council moving forward. And I would hope that the electorate recognises that," he tells RNZ.
Hovell was thrust into the
role of deputy mayor
after a majority of councillors called for Bell's first choice, Stewart MacDonnell,
to step down
.
The retiring councillor defends the efforts of the council this term.
"There have been issues at a governance level and we've worked those through, but there are also some underlying issues that feed into that. As councillors, we believe that we were acting in the best interest of the community with what we've done over the last three years and particularly during that first six months," he says.
"We were seen as the bad guys, but we believe we were acting in the best interests of the situation that we faced at the time."
Hovell has a "clear conscience" after his time around the council table and he says he looks back on his achievements positively.
"I think when you look at what we have managed to achieve over the whole three years, and setting aside the slow start that we had, the advances that we've made in the last two years in particular, I think are serving the community extremely well," he says.
Deputy mayor Keith Hovell is stepping aside from local politics after October's elections.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Hovell has often been at the frontline of ructions this term.
He was instrumental in the
call for Bell to step down
as mayor, as well as the aborted no-confidence vote and in blocking the petitions calling for Parry's resignation.
"I guess I'd sum it up that I retired and retirement's about doing the things you want to do and I am - but not necessarily the way I want to do them all the time," Hovell says.
"We went through our initial period and have found a way forward. So we're working together professionally doing what we need to be doing."
So what does he make of Bell's leadership?
"Ben does bring a particular skillset, particularly what we're working through at present with the three waters. So from his technical background, he's not only able to provide the leadership that's necessary from a mayor, but also some technical input," Hovell says.
But after previously leading a mutiny against the young mayor, does Bell now have his support?
"The mayor has my confidence to do the job that we all need to do to see us through over the next four or five months."
There is a sense among those in Gore, regardless of where they sit in the district's political spectrum, that time has been lost this term.
Bell stood at the 2022 elections as part of the Team Hokonui alliance of candidates.
In addition to Bell winning the mayoralty, Team Hokonui council candidates Robert McKenzie and Joe Stringer were elected on a promise of change.
McKenzie tells RNZ there has been no discussion of resurrecting the group, though he intends to stand for a second term.
"I'm definitely standing and I fully support our young mayor Ben Bell," McKenzie says.
"I'm definitely standing because there's work to be done. We wasted the first 18 months on political bullshit."
A Gore District Council meeting.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Bell also seems to have the backing of his community.
Ratepayers and residents who spoke to RNZ outlined a litany of grievances with the council and the work it is doing, but are supportive of Bell and believe he is trying to do the right thing by ratepayers.
While in no way a scientific measure of sentiment, those who spoke to RNZ rated Bell's performance between six and eight out of ten, with all unanimously saying fresh blood is good for the council and they are likely or certain to give Bell a vote for a second term - even those who admitted to not voting for him at the last election.
Bell has publicly committed to seeking a second term and others are already putting their hand up to run.
It is possible a familiar face will be among them.
"A month ago I would have said no, and I haven't made a decision, but I have been quite surprised at the number of people that have approached me," Tracy Hicks says.
"I'm fearful of where this community's heading, particularly on the fiscal front and I'm very mindful of what has been gained over the years - over almost a century and a half - developing this as a stunning community ... I think there's a lot to make sure that we don't lose."
Hicks says his future is in Gore, but he is not convinced that is true for Bell.
"I guess I'd been there a long time - 18 years - you can see why people wanted a change, I don't blame them for that," Hicks says.
"But I'm not sure change has delivered anything better. In fact, I think ... it put us back.
"In saying that I hold no grudges against Ben. He's a young guy who was out to make his name and make a profile for himself, and he's done that. So good on him for that. Is his long-time future representing Gore district or the Gore community or the eastern Southland community? I'm not sure about that."
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