Gore Mayor Ben Bell is standing by the hiring of council chief executive Deborah Lascelles last year, despite the process being labelled "sloppy and unprofessional" by former councillor and Gore Rates Reform group member Sally McIntyre.
In an email to council in July, Mrs McIntyre questioned why Ms Lascelles was hired over applicant Doug Walker, who was the council’s chief finance officer from 2004-2006.
After Mr Walker left he aired claims of alleged workplace toxicity and bullying.
The appointment of Ms Lascelles, made in February 2024, was overseen by recruitment company Brannigans and a sub-committee consisting of Mr Bell, deputy mayor Keith Hovell, Cr Neville Phillips and Cr Andy Fraser.
Mrs McIntyre critiqued the employment process and questioned if the four members of the subcommittee "were the person(s) with the highest qualifications for the job
given the opportunity to put their case?".
In her email, she also called for more transparency and community input into the hiring process and asked why Mr Walker, who now lived in London, had not been contacted for a phone interview.
Mr Bell, in a response to Mrs McIntyre, said the committee considered multiple factors, with prioritisation of relevant skills such as financial and cultural competency taken into account.
He also declined future community involvement due to privacy and confidentiality concerns.
He said he stood by the decision to appoint Ms Lascelles.
"I recognise that you are disappointed that Mr Walker did not get the role over Mrs Lascelles.
"However, after over a year since making that decision I am fully confident that we made the right decision and selected the right person for the role."
Mr Walker featured prominently in the media during the 2023 public spat between Mr Bell and former chief executive Stephen Parry.
In a comment left on Facebook last week, Mr Walker said he "strongly ticked every box on the selection criteria" and suggested the denial was due to "me going on the Sunday programme".
Mr Walker publicly aired his claims of alleged workplace toxicity and bullying, which he and other former employees took to the Department of Labour in 2008.
In an Otago Daily Times article in May, 2023, Mr Walker said he still had nightmares about being rehired by the Gore District Council, stating "I could never get away from it sometimes".
In June 2023, he said his experience led to him retiring early, having never recovered mentally from the trauma he suffered at the council.
In a Newsroom article in September 2023, on receiving the news of Mr Parry’s resignation, he said it would close the chapter, having started again over in London with his family. Two months later he announced he would be applying for the chief executive role.
Mr Walker, in the same Facebook comment, said "although [Ms] Lascelles is here to stay" he hoped holding the council to account on the recruitment process "will hopefully mean for the next one they will be more careful" and he "may stand a better chance in getting the role as I would apply for it in the future".
In his email to Mrs McIntyre, Mr Bell said the sub-committee members overseeing the recruitment were given NDAs, candidate information and oversight in the candidate meetings was handled by Brannigans and meetings were held in Queenstown to maintain confidentiality and cost-efficiency.
Candidates were initially screened for motivation, regional affinity, leadership and local government experience, community engagement and financial management, with a phone interview as well. They were then shortlisted for final interviews for a deeper evaluation of local government technical skills, financial and relationship management, leadership style, public communication and organisational fit.
Mr Bell said he was unable to diverge any information regarding candidates due to confidentiality agreements.
Originally Mr Bell declined to answer certain questions on general selection criteria, steps to ensure undue influence and others under section 7(g) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. This section states the parties can decline if "information requested is not held by the local authority" or other local authorities including the Crown.
However Mrs McIntyre took this to the Ombudsman, who said under section 2(6) of the Act, any information held by an independent contractor engaged by any local authority was deemed to be held by the local authority.
