Mayor-elect Jules Radich chose to give a post of responsibility to Lee Vandervis and it will be interesting to see if the combative senior councillor can channel his energy constructively.
Cr Vandervis, set to chair the finance and council-controlled organisations committee, has provided indications that this is firmly his intention.
Certainly, he considers Mr Radich to have a strong mandate to change the council’s course and he would love to steer it away from taking on unnecessary debt.
Much less clear is how well he might work within a team or tolerate compromise.
Some voters will be pleased Cr Vandervis has been given a chance to be more influential and it is now up to him to show Mr Radich made the right call.
However, the success of the term is not really down to Cr Vandervis.
A lot will rest on the mayor’s leadership, but perhaps as much will be determined by the influence of deputy mayor Sophie Barker, and experienced councillors Andrew Whiley and Jim O’Malley.
Cr Barker will chair a new committee called strategy and engagement, and those are matters close to her heart.
One indication of this committee’s importance is it appears likely mana whenua representatives will be invited to join it, as well as the infrastructure services committee.
A structure featuring seven committees, and seven people chairing them, carries some risk to maintenance of effective protocol.
It has also not quite been settled yet what each committee will cover.
However, Mr Radich said community services would be responsible for such things as libraries, and civic affairs would oversee a review of standing orders and the code of conduct.
The structure would better align the governance arm of the council with the rest of the organisation, improving communication flow and accountability to the public, he said.
Residents will mostly be interested in whatever results follow.
