Deputy mayor Hana Fanene-Taiti’s recent farewell speech to outgoing Waihemo ward councillor Jim Thomson summed up what many around the council table agreed, his "colourful banter" and boots-and-all approach would be missed.
Mr Thomson, who served the ward for the Waitaki district for the last four and a-half years, burst into song with his own rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way in his valedictory speech.
"As I head home tonight I’ll travel down the State Highway and reflect while I’ve been here, I did it my way," he sang.
His original song elicited laughter from his fellow councillors, and his booming voice managed to blow out the council’s microphone, which only ignited more chuckles from the group.
Ms Fanene-Taiti said Mr Thomson was "not one to stand back from controversy".
"You are unashamedly the most politically incorrect local body politician we have ever met. Thank you for being you.
"You are always open to having a debate about topics that are controversial."
In recent discussions around the council’s water services delivery, Mr Thomson likened local government to being a "bit like the mafia", and was reprimanded by outgoing Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher.
"To be fair, some of the things I have said I’ve said knowing that they will get a reaction," Mr Thomson said, speaking to the Oamaru Mail.
"If you say something controversial and it can engender a good debate on an issue, then I was quite happy to do that," he said.
Mr Thomson said his "biggest" achievement in his time on the council was understanding how democracy works, the collegiality that developed between himself and his fellow councillors and council staff even when they had "different opinions", and an example of that was the voting that occurred on water services.
"We had some strong lead on where we should go, but based on councillor-to-councillor conversations that were had, where we were a bit concerned.
"Then all of a sudden it was a resounding nine-to-two vote — no we’re not going to do that, we’re going to look at what we think are better options for Waitaki," he said.
Mr Thomson said he had a desire to make things better and that "service was expected not something that was demanded".
"That’s exactly why I became a councillor. We have to look after people in our community who struggle — you are there for the people.
"I didn’t aspire to be a career politician at all," he said.
A rural farmer, Mr Thomson said he took an oath to serve the "whole of Waitaki and that’s a whole heap of rural people".
"I believe rural people have had the raw end of the stick for a long time. When I argued about not increasing dog registration for rural landowners, it was about the principle that our compliance team would be lucky to spend 5% of the time dealing with rural issues and yet we pick up the bill.
"Ratepayers up state Highway 85, most of them don’t have a council road, and yet they pay huge rates.
"It’s the same for a lot of dairy farmers up the Waitaki. The perception is ‘oh, they’re farmers, they can afford it, it’s tax deductable’, and it’s just wrong.
"It’s the system that needs an overhaul, not the people within the system," Mr Thomson said.
He had learnt a lot from the younger councillors and the mix around the council table was "absolutely superb".
"We did achieve a lot; we could have achieved more, but you always wish to achieve more."
Ms Fanene-Taiti said Mr Thomson’s "colourful banter will certainly be missed but it is your encouragement and mentorship of your colleagues that we will appreciate the most".
Fellow councillor (and Goran) Rebecca Ryan was assigned Mr Thomson as her "buddy councillor" when she was first elected and they had sat beside each other for most of the triennium.
"For me, he’s been a mentor, a role model and a great supporter and encourager — always generous with his time, taking my phone calls at all hours of the day and night.
"Jim is a real leader. When he speaks, people listen. He’s open to challenge (I think I’ve managed to teach him a thing or two, too) and I love the way he can always bring humour and unite us as a governance group."
His wisdom, experience and leadership will be really missed, Cr Ryan said.
Mr Thomson is turning 71 next month but says that did not affect his decision to leave council.
"It was simply a lifestyle decision for Rhonda and I to be able to go spend more time with our family. My son is a training superintendent in mining in Western Australia and our daughter is an HR manager for a multinational company and works out of Brisbane," he said.
He said he will miss "fighting for a cause" and the collegiality of councillors and hopes they will not miss his "sad sense of humour".
