Defying a call by his colleagues to consider quitting, beleaguered Dunedin city councillor Benedict Ong says he is not going anywhere.
Councillors yesterday accepted the findings of an independent investigator, decided Cr Ong breached the Dunedin City Council’s code of conduct and asked him to consider resigning.
Cr Ong was found in breach over an email he sent to council chief executive Sandy Graham and the Otago Daily Times on February 4 about a staff member.
The investigator, Steph Dyhrberg, found it “more likely than not” Cr Ong acted in retaliation against the staff member, who was a witness in a separate code of conduct case and whose account did not line up with Cr Ong’s.
At a meeting yesterday, Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker said the council needed to send a strong message.
“I am extremely concerned at what I consider to be a shocking breach of the code of conduct, targeted at a staff member who spoke up as a witness,” Ms Barker said.
“It horrifies me that the person was treated in this way.”
Cr Ong was allowed up to 30 minutes to present a defence.
He read a passage from The Trial by Franz Kafka.
Speaking to media afterwards, Cr Ong said he had not considered resigning.
“Not at all. Why would I even consider that? Because, very simply, I have been elected,” he said.
“I am a contractor for the next two and a-half years to serve at the pleasure of our community, and that is what our community wants.”
Asked about people on his Facebook page calling for his resignation, Cr Ong said they were a small minority of the community.
The council voted 10-2 to invite Cr Ong to consider resigning. The two councillors against were Russell Lund and Lee Vandervis.
Cr Lund raised concerns about a code of conduct case in which Cr Ong had been the complainant relating to remarks by Cr John Chambers. This complaint was found by Ms Dyhrberg to be without substance and Cr Lund said he was startled by that result.
Cr Ong did not identify the staff member in his February 4 email, but the ODT considered it fairly obvious to whom he was referring.
Cr Vandervis doubted the incident was a serious breach, as Ms Dyhrberg found.
Asking Cr Ong to consider resigning did not serve a useful purpose, he said.
Calls for Cr Ong to resign have come while a by-election is being held to replace Cr Jules Radich, who died in January.
The ODT has previously established the by-election could fill two councillor positions if a resignation were to be received in time. Voting opens on April 10 and notification of a change would have to happen by April 8.
The council also decided yesterday to remove Cr Ong as its representative on the Otago Settlers Association and the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum board, as well as noting the mayor’s decision to remove him as the technology portfolio deputy lead.
Those decisions were separate from the code of conduct case.
They related to Cr Ong refusing to remove disparaging commentary online about Ms Graham and disrespectful behaviour towards Ms Barker.
Losing his portfolio role will have an impact on Cr Ong’s pay — his remuneration is set to drop from just under $100,000 to almost $84,500.
Nearly all other councillors will have their remuneration edge over $100,000.
Cr Andrew Simms was uneasy about cutting one elected member’s pay.
He said the code of conduct system had serious shortcomings.
“The reputation of this council is not yet restored, the safety of our staff is not yet advanced and [the] behaviour of Cr Ong is unchanged, as he continues to make contemptuous remarks on social media.”