Resignation Necessary
The mayoral imbroglio: more contamination than a P-House
The right thing to do is – resign!
Of course Mayor Len Brown should step down. The list of reasons is overwhelming. The imbroglio he created has raised a lot of questions that have yet to be answered.
The mayor continues to degrade the office of mayor. He shouts about his ‘passion’ for Auckland, as if that is a justification for staying in office – which it clearly isn’t. If he is serious about his ‘passion’ and the good of Auckland, the right and proper way to show this ‘passion’ is to step down and let the mayoralty recover some dignity. Every moment he stays in office, he is butchering the dignity of the office and embedding a lower set of values for the future of leadership in local government.
Seemingly he can’t be sacked. However, the real issue now is whether the citizens of Auckland will show the integrity, courage, and responsibility needed to activate themselves to do whatever they can to pressure a ‘lame duck’ mayor to step down. No amount of philosophical gymnastics justifies him staying in office, albeit he might succeed if hypocrisy prevails.
And pity the councillors who are trying to do their job in what is now a contaminated environment.
The attributes we expect from a mayor, or any leader for that matter, can be summed up in one word, integrity. It embraces honesty, truthfulness, trustworthiness, moral uprightness, soundness, respect, discipline, and – let us not forget – sincerity and humility. Which one of these attributes has the Auckland mayor not shattered? His actions – and lack of actions – wreak havoc with just about every aspect of integrity.
The mayor continues to bulldoze his way. He consistently attempts to shift the goalposts from his behaviour to his stated ‘passion’ for Auckland. This isn’t the issue. Nor is his repeated talk about rebuilding his family situation. Nor are his attempts to separate private life from his public role. Nor is his expressed ‘excitement’ about 2014. Nor the temerity to talk about a possible third term. His self-seeking approach continues to insult the citizens of Auckland – let alone the rest of New Zealand.
The citizens of Auckland are left with some serious questions – still to be dealt with:
How can the mayor reasonably be addressed by the honorific title of the office, “Your Worship”?
How can he provide respected, functional, and fully effective leadership for the elected members - and for the citizens he represents?
How can he front up with many of the Polynesian citizens? His hypocrisy – of belief versus action – is a terrible affront to a great part of the Pacific Island community.
How on earth can a person with such terrible judgement – not for the first time - be entrusted with stewardship of the Auckland Council – its activities, finances, and people?
How could he, after his previous credit card lapse, and coming under Council policy, be so lax and short-sighted about receiving benefits, let alone not declaring them? Haven’t central government precedents given enough pointers in recent years?
And on judgement again, how can he expect his staff to take on the job of resurrecting his reputation and image, and the ratepayers to fund it?
How can he with dignity and respect represent the Queen City – the City of Sails – with visiting dignitaries?
How can he represent the Council in negotiations with central government with all the effectiveness and success that is required? Election year is traditionally a good time to win support from central government, but how can he negotiate with credibility this year?
How can he possibly attend functions at schools, or anywhere else for that matter, as a respected person and leader, let alone any sort of role model? How can schools and anyone else reasonably invite him?
How can he attend any form of function from now on where maybe half the people don’t want him to be there? This will never be easy. Worse still, it will insult these people. Plenty of opportunity for ‘duck calls’.
How could he have expected his contribution to the cost of the mess he created to remain confidential? Surely this is official information that is transparent under LGOIMA (the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act).
Can Auckland afford to be seen as a laughing stock – locally, nationally, and internationally?
Can Auckland really afford to limp along for the next three years like a lame duck, with a lame mayor, who has other things on his mind?
On the question of judgement again, how could he possibly have thought the cat wouldn’t get out of the bag sooner or later? It defies imagination. The hidden cost to Auckland will be enormous – it has already been significant. With so many heavy millstones – for both the mayor and Auckland – wouldn’t Auckland be better off with someone else at the helm?
On display is seemingly a lust for power, ego, and a strange form of arrogance that comes with power. This wasn’t a regrettable accident; it was premeditated first degree moral failure and carelessness on several counts over a long timeframe. To stay in office is an affront to the office of mayor. It defies principle, insults the citizens of Auckland, and trashes the values and standards we seriously need from our leadership throughout the whole country.
Guest post by Jack Shallard
(Former Auckland citizen, with interests in Auckland, looking on and fretting for the city.)
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