Rookie councillor Keith Hovell voted in as deputy mayor in Gore

Tuesday, 13 December 2022

Cr Keith Hovell has been appointed as Gore district deputy mayor.

First-time councillor Keith Hovell has been appointed as deputy mayor in the Gore district with a unanimous vote after the former deputy mayor resigned from the position.

Gore district mayor Ben Bell had appointed councillor Stewart MacDonell to the role of deputy mayor but he tendered his resignation from the role on December 1 after seven fellow councillors signed a requisition calling for him to step down.

At the meeting, Bell said the appointment of MacDonell had created tension amongst councillors and between the public and council, and he would not put himself or another elected member in the same position by nominating another deputy.

He read MacDonell’s resignation to councillors, and said his support still lay with MacDonell.

* Behaviour of Gore Mayor Ben Bell ‘taking a toll on staff’s mental well-being and health'

Gore mayor Ben Bell and chief executive Stephen Parry at the council meeting on 13 December.

MacDonell nominated Hovell for the position, and Cr Glenys Dickson said she would second the motion, but only if Bell would endorse the deputy so the council could move on and start working together.

That prompted a member of the public to yell ‘’hear hear’’ from a packed gallery.

Former Gore District deputy mayor Stewart MacDonell resigned from the position.

Bell said he could work with everyone around the table.

Hovell said he would not take the position lightly, and he did not see it as a position of power. His job was to support Bell in his role as mayor.

The mayor and all councillors were appointed to all of the council’s committees after the proposed draft governance structure was adopted.

The council will have four committees – asset and infrastructure, audit and risk, community wellbeing and policy and planning.

An independent external member will be appointed to the asset and infrastructure and audit and risk committees.

Bell appointed Cr John Gardyne as chair of the asset and infrastructure committee, MacDonell as chair of audit and risk, Dickson as chair of community wellbeing and Hovell as chair of the policy and planning committee.

He said any councillors who were not happy with those appointments would have to take the same action they took over the appointment of MacDonell as deputy mayor.

The establishment of an officer to the policy and planning committee was discussed at length and would be considered as part of the annual plan process.

The draft recommendation did not make specific recommendations on mana whenua representation, and councillors voted to establish a working group to work on an agreed way forward for future mana whenua representation with the Hokonui Runanga.

The council and Runanga operate with a Charter of Understanding, which was signed in December 2021.

Bell had previously proposed a governance structure of six committees and five portfolios, with10 mana whenua representatives.

The council said the cost of running that governance structure would be $300,000 a year.

Bell was criticised for not working with council staff on his proposed structure, and it was discussed behind closed doors in a workshop on December 1.

Several members of the public clapped as Bell entered the chamber in a show of support for him.

He opened the meeting with a karakia as a symbol of the council wanting to build a relationship with the runanga, he said.