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A city councilman censored after a standoff over a $ 12 parking ticket is having his day in court, against his own advice.
Lee Vandervis faced the Dunedin City Council in Dunedin Superior Court on Thursday morning.
The frank councilor, who declined to comment Things Prior to the case, he was censored after a dispute with a city hall customer service representative over a parking ticket on September 13, 2019.
His attorney, Len Andersen QC, questioned Dunedin City Council Chief Executive Officer Sandy Graham on the matter on Thursday.
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Graham said he did not know who leaked the details of the investigation to Otago Daily Times, which occurred just a few weeks before last year’s local body election.
Vandervis previously alleged that the leak undermined his Dunedin mayoral bid, which Aaron Hawkins won.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
Cr Lee Vandervis walks to Dunedin Superior Court.
Andersen asked Graham if his predecessor, Dr. Sue Bidrose, had expressed any concerns about the possibility of Vandervis becoming mayor of the city. Graham said yes.
Graham said staff cannot file a complaint about a councilor “directly,” but it can be made through the council’s executive director.
The manager of the aggrieved staff member, Simon Pickford, explained the process he could go through in an email to Bidrose. Subsequently, the employee decided to file a complaint.
Anderson questioned the board’s process, including the appointment of independent investigator David Benham.
Benham found that the employee was “deeply upset” by the incident with Vandervis, whom Benham described as “loud, aggressive and intimidating.”
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
Dunedin City Council’s new CEO Sandy Graham has championed the council’s grievance process.
Benham was questioned about his preliminary finding against Vandervis, who had not participated in the investigation.
Benham’s preliminary investigation, which largely involved telephone interviews, determined whether a full investigation was required, the court heard.
Witness testimony made it “very clear” that a full investigation was required, Benham said.
Benham, who had been involved in local government for three decades, admitted the move was potentially damaging to Vandervis’ mayoral campaign.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
Cr Lee Vandervis has taken Dunedin City Council to court over a dispute over parking tickets.
He said that the purpose of the preliminary investigation was to determine whether a complaint merited a full investigation where “everything is on the table.”
He confirmed that he did not give Vandervis a copy of the complaint, nor did he tell him that he was charged with attempting to have a $ 12 fine waived.
“I didn’t need to tell him … he told me.”
the Otago Daily Times The story was published on September 24, the same day that Benham began his investigation.
The inference was that Vandervis had used his position as a councilman to get a parking ticket waived, a charge he rejected, Andersen said.
He also pointed to the complaint process followed by the former CEO, saying it was a “flawed procedure.”
The process was not fair and put Vandervis in an impossible position.
The council’s attorney argued that Vandervis was involved in the Code of Conduct process, which involved a set of values that had been accepted by his fellow council members.
Earlier this month Things revealed that the council had spent $ 14,148 on the matter prior to court proceedings, including $ 3,144 for Benham and legal costs of $ 11,004.
The case before Judge David Gendall continues.
