David Cormack is a communications and public relations specialist from Wellington. He has worked with a range of organisations, including the Green Party.
OPINION: Have you got your pearls on? You might want to be ready to clutch them.
The Post reported on Monday that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau was – gasp – a bit boozed on a Friday evening while out with a friend.
They went to a local restaurant where there was some discussion by staff whether they should even be served; good host responsibility. In the end they were served as they were eating dinner.
Rumour has it the mayor then asked the waiter if they knew who she was. Then the party of two ran out on the bill without paying.
All of this was given prominence on the front page of the paper.
Except if you read the piece you’d see that the mayor wasn’t so drunk she couldn’t stand up. She was “tipsy” as she put it. And the restaurant did make the call to serve her.
BRUCE MACKAY/Stuff
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau at her inauguration after her election last year. David Cormack questions whether her age, sex or race are reasons for the scrutiny of her behaviour while out in town with a friend.
Also, the running out on the bill? Yeah that looks bad. Except someone showed up the next day when they realised what happened and settled the bill. The restaurant in question even said this wasn’t an unusual occurrence given their outdoor dining.
Full disclosure: I’ve worked with Tory when we were both at the Greens. She’s also a good friend of mine, so this may colour my view of the whole episode.
But Tory is not someone to stamp her feet and demand that she be recognised by hospitality staff. If it was said at all, it would have been tongue in cheek. Tory doesn’t demand or expect special treatment from anyone. She’s one of the most grounded politician types I’ve ever known.
No, this felt different. There was a video in one outlet’s reporting, which showed the mayor talking to the waiter, bottle of wine in hand. Nothing was heard, the mayor looked like she was having a good time. Nobody looked like they were being harassed or abused.
Then a photo started circling on social media alleging that she had been at another venue that day having a boozy lunch.
It was all so disgustingly tabloid.
SUPPLIED/Stuff
The big changes planned to central Wellington under the Let’s Get Wellington Moving plan have provoked heated opposition in the city.
Some of Wellington’s local business community is furious about the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme. They believe that making the city easier to walk through, cycle in, and take public transport to, will hurt them. So they’ve been lashing out.
They got together and wrote a letter to the mayor and the council last week to try and get the project stopped. In fact several councillors then lodged a motion of no-confidence in the project as a whole. The council voted on whether to proceed with the project and good sense prevailed. Wellington will at some point, get moving.
This whole story felt like a backlash against a young mayor who is actually doing what she campaigned on. She said she was an avowed fan of Let’s Get Wellington Moving, she said she was good at getting compromise around a table and making progress on projects, and that’s exactly what she’s done.
I have been out with many MPs of all stripes, many of whom were in far worse shape than the video showed of Mayor Whanau. No story was generated, there was no outrage media, and nor should there be. People are allowed to live their lives and let their hair down. Especially if they had a huge win like Mayor Whanau did last week.
What’s different about Tory? Is it age? Is it her sex? Is it her race?
DAVID UNWIN/Stuff
David Cormack: When did we get so puritanical that having a few drinks after work was a crime that should be splashed across the front page of the local paper?
I’m not a drinker myself, so I can’t relate, but when did we get so puritanical that having a few drinks after work was a crime that should be splashed across the front page of the local paper?
Nobody was hurt. Mayor Whanau had a few while out with a mate – yes she forgot to pay a bill, but this was quickly rectified.
So get your act together, Wellington. We’ve finally got a mayor and a council that seem to be working with some kind of cohesion. Things are slowly but surely being turned around in the right direction after years of dismal council antics.
Why would you try to jeopardise that by acting like Great Aunt Winifred?
