Brown attempts to silence councillors
Leaked emails obtained by Stuff reveal Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has tried to silence fellow councillors and leave him to be the ‘‘one voice’’ on the city’s flooding matters.
Already under fire for poor communication, Brown is now facing criticism from his peers after trying to silence them – with one veteran councillor slamming Brown’s email as an affront to all elected members.
Stuff can reveal Brown’s email amounted to telling elected officials to step back and allow only himself and deputy mayor Desley Simpson to do the talking.
‘‘I will take care of the big picture,’’ Brown said in an email to all councillors and local board members – on the same day he was reported calling the media ‘‘drongos’’ and that he ‘‘didn’t need to talk to anybody’’ (in the media).
‘‘My team and I have been working hard to strengthen communications and get clear, timely messages out to Aucklanders.
‘‘To ensure that all communications remain clear and consistent, we need to speak with one voice,’’ said Brown in his email yesterday.
‘‘For that reason, I ask that it be left to myself and the deputy mayor to lead public communications on regional matters.’’
And that has not gone down well.
North Shore councillor Chris Darby has replied to the mayor, calling the comments ‘‘ludicrous’’.
‘‘A lot of members stepped up in day one and two particularly when they observed an information void and lack of political lead,’’ Darby told Brown by email. ‘‘The tone and content of your email, considering failings, is inappropriate. I would have stopped after the first line where you expressed a sliver of generosity.’’
Darby said the mayor’s comments were an affront to all elected members and praised the efforts they had made to take care of their communities.
Darby also fired back to Brown: ‘‘If there are particular members who you think have not appropriately represented the official view, it’s best to communicate that directly.’’
Darby also confirmed that the email from Brown was received during a 2pm council briefing yesterday about the floods.
Several councillors have been publicly critical of aspects of the city’s emergency response, such as poor early communication and the limited scale of some first community facilities.