Allegations of 'Trump-style' politics in coup to oust community board chairwoman

Jake Kenny Reporter from Community News

Allegations of “Trump-style” politics and “despicable” actions have beset a Christchurch community board as members of the Labour-aligned People’s Choice move to oust the board’s chairwoman.

Five People’s Choice members of the Waikura/Linwood-Central-Heathcote board – including city councillors Jake McLellan​ and Yani Johanson​ – have written to Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale​ outlining their intention to hold a vote on November 30 to remove chairwoman Alexandra Davids​.

The move came less than a month after People’s Choice member Sunita Gautam​ was elected to the board in a by-election following the death of long-time member Sally Buck.

Gautam’s win gives People’s Choice a majority on the nine-person board. The Local Government Act says a vote to remove a chairperson can be called for if the majority of members support it.

Buck stepped down from the chairwoman role in April and one of her last actions was to vote for Davids as her replacement as chairwoman.

McLellan said Davids and many other members always understood another vote would be needed after the by-election.

But Davids and the other three independent members on the board – Cr Sara Templeton, Tim Lindley and Darrell Latham – said there was no such understanding.

Templeton labelled the antics as nothing more than “people playing politics” when they should be getting on with the job of advocating on behalf of the community.

Latham said he was “saddened and incredibly disappointed” in the actions of the other five board members.

“This Trump, ‘lets roll them’, political style has no place nor is it befitting of a community board working to do the best for the Linwood-Central-Heathcote communities.”

Lindley said the actions of the five were “despicable and disgraceful”.

He had high expectations of Davids and she had exceeded those, he said.