Embattled Gore mayor Ben Bell has spoken to TVNZ's Sunday about the strain on his mental health as tensions reach boiling point at the Gore District Council.
Bell, 24, is the country's youngest mayor - having only been elected last year.
Watch the full Sunday story here or on TVNZ+
On Thursday the council announced that the majority of elected representatives had asked for the mayor to resign, saying they had lost confidence in him and that they believed he didn’t have the best interests of the community at heart.
Bell has refused to resign and said he’s “committed to undertaking the role I was elected to do”.
It comes after months of division at the council, and an extraordinary meeting in which Bell became so overwhelmed, he had to walk out.
Bell told Sunday he left for his “mental protection".
"So I didn't break down when a question was fired at me.
“I didn't want to lose it in there, didn’t want to act unprofessional. I know when I'm getting to that stage of kind of being too stressed, too overwhelmed, and just kind of need a breather. In that scenario, it was a lot to take.”
Bell said a number of the allegations levelled at him by the council have been unjustified or false, including a claim he had to be woken up or picked up by council staff in order to get to appointments on time.
There’s been a breakdown of communications at the top between New Zealand’s youngest-ever Mayor, Ben Bell, and chief Executive Stephen Parry. (Source: 1News)
It comes amid revelations, investigated by Sunday, that there have been serious concerns about bullying at the council for almost the entire duration of chief executive Steve Parry’s tenure.
Former chief financial officer Doug Walker left the council in 2007 after he said he was “terrorised” by Parry, who he claimed made false allegations about him, and requested that the IT manager search his emails.
He moved to the UK, he said, to escape the ordeal, but said Parry tracked him down in 2008 and visited him at home during an overseas trip.
“One day, I got a knock on the door, opened the door, and there he was, and you could have just floored me, honestly, I could not believe it.”
“He got a bit abusive and stuff… he took photos and all sorts, it was just horrible, absolutely horrible.”
The independent review will investigate the relationship breakdown between Mayor Ben Bell and the council’s chief executive Stephen Parry. (Source: 1News)
Sunday has spoken to multiple other former Gore District Council staff who said Parry is responsible for a toxic, manipulative culture at council, and that a number of people have been bullied or restructured out of their jobs.
Parry had agreed to speak to Sunday, but pulled out of a scheduled interview at the last minute, citing advice from the council and his lawyer.
In a statement, he said that “any organisation can be subject to claims from former staff” that can have substance “in some instances”.
Aged 23, Ben Bell won the vote by just eight over incumbent Tracy Hicks. (Source: 1News)
He provided a recent staff survey found most workers believed senior staff created a trustworthy and fair environment at council.
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