The Mayor of Centre Wellington filed an Integrity Commissioner complaint against a Councillor, alleging that an email sent by the Councillor to citizens contravened the Code of Conduct.
The email criticized a proposed Code of Conduct and Council-Staff Relations Policy, and mentioned an upcoming performance review of the CAO.
The Integrity Commissioner found that the Councillor's mention of the CAO's performance review was an error for which the Councillor apologized.
However, the Commissioner dismissed the allegations of intimidation, impugning reputation, and using abusive language, finding that the email constituted protected political speech and that the Integrity Commissioner should not act as a referee for political debate.
The Commissioner recommended that Council accept the Councillor's apology regarding the confidential information.
