Professor Tom Roa, centre right, watches on as Robbie Neha makes his inauguration speech at the Hamilton City Council swearing in.
Hamilton city councillor Andrew Bydder, a licensed architectural designer based in Cambridge, has pledged to uphold his family’s legacy of irreverence and a reputation for “getting things done.”
Ella Bydder
Bydder was censured last year after an independent investigation found he had breached the city council’s Code of Conduct in a submission to Waipā District Council regarding the Blue Blob site for a proposed third bridge in Cambridge.
Speaking at his swearing in at Civic Square last week, Bydder shared a story about his grandmother, Ella Bydder – the first and only woman elected to the Takaka Town Board in 1947 and later to the Golden Bay County Council in 1956.
“She got elected because she had a reputation for getting things done, despite treading on the occasional toe,” he said.
Bydder, who described himself as “proudly male, pale and stale” during his successful re-election campaign in Hamilton East under the Better Hamilton banner, finished second behind Rachel Karalus after new mayor Tim Macindoe’s votes were redistributed under the Single Transferable Vote system.
Bydder also played a key role in recruiting candidates for the Better Waipā ticket after withdrawing from standing in both Hamilton and Waipā. Of the group, only Les Bennett (Pirongia-Kakepuku) was elected. The remaining candidates – Ian Hayton, Mike Cater, Hope Spooner (Cambridge), Bernard Westerbaan, and Lyn Hunt (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi) – were unsuccessful.
Bydder’s speech included a vivid anecdote from one of Ella Bydder’s early council meetings in Takaka.
A loud clanging outside the chamber prompted the entire council to rush out, only to find nothing amiss.
When the noise returned at the next meeting, the mayor grew suspicious and investigated.
He discovered that the source was a prank: Bydder’s father and uncles had chained an iron gate to the back of their Model A Ford and driven past the chamber during meetings.
Robbie Neha (Ngāti Maniapoto) listens as new mayor Tim Macindoe makes his inauguration speech. Behind and beside him are former Labour MPs and now city councillors Sue Moroney and Jamie Strange. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
At the following session, the mayor attempted to catch the culprits in the act. As the gate clanged down the street once more, he stepped forward to stop the vehicle – only to find his own son behind the wheel, having joined the prank for fun.
“I’m not sure of the moral of this story but I do have two family reputations to uphold: my grandmother’s for getting stuff done, and my father’s for irreverence.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported me for those two reasons.”
The Civic Square inauguration also saw Macindoe sworn in as mayor.
Formerly deputy principal at St Peter’s School in Cambridge, Macindoe previously stood for United NZ in the Karāpiro electorate before joining the National Party and entering Parliament in 2008. He defeated Labour MP Sue Moroney in 2011- ironically both Moroney and fellow Labour MP Jamie Strange were also sworn in as city councillors last week.
Macindoe emphasised that party politics would have no place in the city council.
The day marked several historic firsts: Karalus became the first councillor of Pacific descent, and Leo Liu the second of Asian descent. Hamilton also voted to retain its Kirikiriroa Māori ward, unlike Waipā.
Robbie Neha, who was unsuccessful in Ōtorohanga but was elected in Hamilton alongside Maria Huata, was welcomed by Tainui leader and fellow Ngāti Maniapoto member Tom Roa.
Andrew Bydder during his Hamilton City Council swearing in watched by new mayor Tim Macindoe. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Professor Tom Roa, centre right, watches on as nephew Robbie Neha makes his inauguration speech at the Hamilton City Council swearing in.
