Allegations of 'Trump-style' politics in coup to oust community board chairwoman
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.
Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”
We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?
Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.
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41.3% Yes
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33.9% Maybe?
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24.8% No
Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️💥❔
What has a head but no brain?
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2025 has been massive. The Luxon-led Government's attacks on workers, on Te Tiriti, on pay equity, on educators, on health workers, and on the public service, have been relentless.
But despite everything thrown at working people, we've also seen some massive wins. We've fought back together with strike action. We've unified with days of action. We have focused on what matters. Make no mistake, 2026 will be wild, and we are ready for it! Source - New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
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