Sir Tim said present political events in Gore reminded him of the situation he had experienced with his own council over the last term.
After 24 years as Invercargill mayor, Sir Tim was voted out after intense scrutiny during his final term.
Yesterday, he confessed he missed a lot about political life.
He also said he was impressed with Mr Bell.
"I’ve been following the news and I’ve been quite disturbed about it.
"It seems they [councillors] ganged up a bit on him, a bit like my council did when they ganged up on me."
When asked what kind of advice he would give to the youngest mayor in New Zealand, he was quick with his answer.
"I would tell him just to hang in and fight for survival.
"Don’t buckle under pressure."
Mr Bell has endured a tumultuous first few weeks after narrowly defeating six-term incumbent Tracy Hicks.
His bid for a personal assistant was rejected, and his choice of deputy mayor has been challenged and will go to a vote at an extraordinary council meeting on December 15.
Sir Tim said he felt sad about the whole situation and believed the present criticism of Mr Bell did not help local bodies across the country attract more young people into councils.
"He is a model for young people to get involved in local politics — but if that is what happens to you, then you would not get such a great response. It is too hard."
While he followed the news from afar, Sir Tim confessed his new life away from the mayoralty had been challenging.
"When I was the mayor I got up in the morning and reached out for my schedule, but now there is no schedule," he said, laughing.
He filled his days working in his garden, going to the gym and attending many community events, he said.
Proof of this was his Christmas Day lunch which he will host once again.
Organisers Teressa Lauthton and Linda Howard teamed up with Sir Tim to promote the event and bring joy to people in the community who did not have a family or faced financial difficulties.
"This will be the eighth one we have and it is something that I would like to keep going.
"I might not be the mayor, but I am still pretty involved in the community."
