The Waipā district
Roger Gordon: Then ……
and now
Five months ago, Roger Gordon posed for a series of photos with Cambridge photographer Michael Jeans which he planned to use for his district council election campaign.
But in a misunderstanding with his computer filing system, he submitted a picture to the returning officer taken in 2019.
Gordon came clean to The News when we noticed he and other candidates had used older photos in the candidate profile booklet posted out to 39,608 voters.
Warwick Lampp
The rule for candidates is they can decline to provide a photo for inclusion in the booklet, but if they do, it must be in colour and less than 12 months old.
Returning officer Warwick Lampp told The News all candidates had assured him the photos were taken in the last year.
Gordon is the only one who owned up to the rule misdemeanour.
A search of the photos’ metadata (data attached to the image) and of the internet, shows there are at least four other candidates who sent in older photos – one from 2014 – while another did not send a photo at all and another provided a black and white version.
Jill Taylor
Lampp said he would not be taking any action against the candidates despite the rule breaking.
Te Awamutu Community Board candidate Jill Taylor, who did supply a new photo, said she was bemused as to why any prospective candidate would not follow the instructions.
Mayoral candidate Chris Woodhams confirmed his photo was taken recently but a bit of stress eating during the campaign means “I am slightly plumper than earlier in the year.”
Chris Woodhams: Then …..
and now
Gordon said he placed the newly taken photos in a folder on his computer with others from a similar sitting three years ago.
“We used whichever shot we thought was the most appropriate in brochures, billboards, advertising and to council.
“In retrospect we may have picked up a photo from the 2019 batch,” Gordon said and provided the two photos as evidence.
