Invercargill councillor Ian Pottinger has been challenged for assuming the male gender when referencing mayors. Photo: Supplied/ODT
An Invercargill councillor has apologised for assuming the gender of mayors after initially doubling down on his comment at a meeting.
On Tuesday, councillor Ian Pottinger was speaking to a paper discussing Local Government New Zealand's (LGNZ) work around local elections and low voter turnout.
Pottinger commented on the difference in how mayors and chairs were elected, saying the role of mayor was underplayed.
"In the first option where the mayor is elected at large by a group of people, you have the chance of a mayor that has never been in local government before. Never at all been in local government," Pottinger said.
"He arrives on the doorstep, first up ,,, "
Pottinger was cut off by councillor Trish Boyle who interjected with "she" before Darren Ludlow chimed in with "they".
Pottinger explained he disagreed with Boyle because he had "just been to a course where gender was specifically used in the male sense".
Mayor Nobby Clark - who was chairing the meeting - said he didn't want a cross table debate and believed roles should be talked about in a neutral way.
"Sorry, I will accept any wrongdoings," Pottinger said.
Discussion moved back to the paper, with a number of councillors sharing their views on local government and potential reforms for the sector.
Deputy mayor Tom Campbell said mayors were limited in their authority despite being expected to lead council.
The extent to which they had authority depended on their mana in the community, he said.
Lesley Soper and Trish Boyle both openly supported four year terms for council, while Ria Bond expressed concern there wasn't enough in the Local Government Act to protect cities should situations take a turn for the worse.
Alex Crackett said there was a paragraph in the LGNZ document which dealt with enhanced accountability and went in conjunction with the four-year term.
Councillors ultimately resolved to hold a workshop ahead of lodging a submission to LGNZ's Local Electoral Reform draft paper.
The paper is set to be launched in July and covers topics addressing falling voter turnout.
Those include public understanding of local government, voting methods, four-year terms, understanding candidates and their policies, and administration and promotion of elections.
An electoral reform working group has been set up by LGNZ and includes four mayors, a councillor and university professor.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
