Cull's legacy

Kneecapping, Excluding and Badmouthing

Lee Vandervis

As usual Cr Vandervis has not been appointed to any committees. '

The voters gave him the largest number of their first choice votes for mayor and a thumpingly large lead in the Council numbers. Recognising his ability they made their opinion clear. No matter, it's not about what the voters intend, it's about the Cull antipathy as an insecure man, towards one of superior intellectual heft and practical experience.

Cr Vandervis is blunt in that German and Dutch way that many NZers find disconcerting. We do more verbal fluffing around, softening and blanding. Women do it even more than men, using the rising inflection that makes a statement sound like an unthreatening question, prefacing with discount labels till their words can be ignored as without any value. "Do you think that perhaps, there may be other ways of looking at this so I wondered, sometimes, to some extent, possibly.....?"

He has a loud clear voice too, neither the Kiwi+elocution lessons nor the medium-height poppy mumble. So have I. Petty 'crats don't like it.

If I tried and tried to say what I was paid by ratepayers to contribute but was ignored, sidelined while ignorance flourished I'd become progressively louder and more adamant. Those of us who voted for Lee Vandervis didn't hope he would turn into another woolly baa-baa, we know the city needs leaders not placid followers, happy to be herded along by council staff and vision salesmen.

Cull's legacy would be bad enough if it ended with his departure from the mayoralty. Unfortunately like spilt milk in a hot car, it lingers and lingers. And that stinks.