How did we get here?<\/p>\n
It all started with a survey. Back in October last year, Beck put out what the Herald dubbed a \u201cscathing\u201d assessment of the city centre<\/a>, based on responses from 105 local business owners. The resulting coverage painted a picture of an area plagued by drugs and antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n Some Queen Street businesses welcomed the coverage. Beck defended it as a means of getting officials to pay attention to a pressing issue. But Heart of the City\u2019s board hadn\u2019t approved the survey\u2019s release. It came just before the vital Christmas period during a tough economic downturn and some board members worried it would put people off coming to the city to shop.<\/p>\n Sources told The Spinoff the survey was one of the precipitating factors in a period of upheaval at Heart of the City. Board chair Martin Snedden resigned soon after its release, unexpectedly stepping down before the end of his term<\/a>. He was replaced as chair by Andrew Stringer, who lasted only two weeks in the role<\/a>. A full-time replacement was elusive until Malcolm McCracken took over in February. The former KPMG manager is in his 20s and has advocated for housing and transport reform in Auckland. One of his first jobs in the role was responding to a story about mounting criticism of his chief executive by the upstart web magazine The Spinoff. He is now among the six board members who have resigned.<\/p>\n What does \u2018The Spinoff\u2019 have to do with this?<\/p>\n You can read our original story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n But basically, the survey\u2019s release crystallised a long-standing frustration with Beck shared by some politicians and city centre businesspeople; namely that it can seem like she doesn\u2019t like the city centre all that much. Many of her media appearances over the last few years have been devoted to complaining about everything from homelessness to pedestrian-friendly projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n When it was put to mayor Wayne Brown that some business owners and politicians seemed fed up with the negativity, he replied \u201ceveryone is\u201d. Auckland Central MP Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick said Beck\u2019s strategy was \u201chugely detrimental to the city\u201d. North Shore councillor Richard Hills said he was confused that someone whose job is to promote the city centre \u201cusually does the opposite\u201d. Heart of the City board member Les Morgan was more diplomatic, saying \u201cI think if the interested parties took a more positive view on the city centre, then that would help us all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n McCracken issued a statement saying that he would be open to having further conversations with political stakeholders, inviting them to share their thoughts with him on what the organisation is doing well and where it can improve.<\/p>\n It was a relatively anodyne response. But after the story came out, things started to spiral.<\/p>\n How so?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spinoff understands Beck was unhappy with the Spinoff story and the response from Heart of the City. Business owners sympathetic to her, some of whom were part of a newly formed pro-carparking incorporated society on lower Queen Street, started advocating to the board on her behalf. Tensions escalated and on March 27, she was suspended from her role<\/a>, with the board sending a letter citing her \u201cpoor communication\u201d, \u201cbreakdown of trust and confidence between you and the committee\u201d, \u201chostile behaviour towards committee members\u201d and \u201cwithholding of information said to be important to the committee\u2019s functions\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n That added fuel to the fire. The Beck-aligned businesses organised under the leadership of St James Theatre owner Steve Bielby. According to reporting from The Post, they served the board with a petition calling for them to be removed and for replacement members to be elected<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Herald reported that Beck had also been trying to influence her organisation\u2019s governance in the lead-up to her suspension<\/a>. It said that she had unsuccessfully lobbied several board members to elect a chair other than McCracken in February. Waitemat\u0101 Local Board chair Alex Bonham confirmed Beck had also tried to influence her to install Communities and Residents (C&R) ticket member Greg Moyle as the council\u2019s liaison overseeing Heart of the City.<\/p>\nSome recent headlines feat. Viv Beck.<\/p>\n