Council CEO role filled from within its ranks
The Tasman District Council has announced Leonie Rae as its new chief executive.
The council said Rae had been its chief operating officer since August 2021, and hers was the first internal appointment to the most senior role since the council was established in 1989.
Rae has previous experience in the role, having stepped up for a year from March 2022 while chief executive Janine Dowding was on secondment working on the Department of Internal Affairs’ Future for Local Government review.
In an interview with Stuff in August, Dowding said she had received “insulting” and “derogatory” correspondence, including targeted abuse and threats, while in the top role.
Although that wasn’t her reason for leaving, it added to the “personal toll” that could come with doing the job.
Asked if it was a concern that Rae would face similar abuse, Tasman mayor Tim King said the council was “constantly learning lessons” about how to deal with the issue.
“In Janine’s case, it was something that developed over her role, whereas someone who’s putting their hand forward for a role now, they’re acutely aware that that is one of the things that you have to manage.”
Upcoming challenges for the council included the completion of the 10-year plan process and rate rises that were being proposed and consulted on.
Consenting in a high-growth area was another challenge, as was the repeal of the Natural and Built Environment Act and the ditching of the Three Waters reform.
Approaches to “a lot of the issues we have spent six years working toward based on the approach of the previous government … [are] obviously being reviewed, repealed and potentially replaced”, King said.
What the replacements for both of those looked like would have “massive implications and impacts” on the council.
King said he had absolute confidence that Rae was capable of doing the job and would bring “fresh thinking and new ideas” from her previous roles. In making the appointment, the council was looking for a “seasoned executive” who had the experience and insight to identify what was working and what could be improved.
“With her experience at a senior executive level in the Christchurch City Council before, during and after the devastating earthquakes, and leading the recovery of that council's regulatory building accreditation, we see an executive that has and will bring new and different perspectives to challenges,” King said.
Rae will take up the position from February 19.