Tim Shadbolt

Shadbolt claims he stood for Mayor of Waitemata City in 1983 because he did not want to see the incumbent Tony Covic re-elected unopposed. He won the election, receiving 1,200 more votes than Covic.[5] He famously celebrated, much to some people's disgust, by towing his concrete mixer (named "Karl Marx"[6]) behind the mayoral Daimler in the 1983 Henderson Christmas parade.[7][8] Shadbolt's election represented the deep cynicism that many voters had felt about the Waitemata City Council, which was known for in-fighting.[5]

In 1986, Shadbolt created Tim's Team, a political ticket of young, liberal councillors.[5] Shadbolt's re-election was widely successful, improving voter turnout in 1980 from 16% of voters to 70% in 1986; the highest ever turnout for a local election in New Zealand.[5] During this three-year term, Shadbolt connected Titirangi and Laingholm to the city's main sewage system.[5] Shadbolt envisioned a large-scale stadium located on undeveloped coastal land at Te Atatū Peninsula called the Kiwi Dome, as a way to develop the economy of Waitemata City, which was never developed.[5] During his term as mayor he became infamous by twice losing the mayoral chains.[1]

In October 1988, Shadbolt's deputy mayor Gary Taylor resigned, citing mismanagement and personal issues as reasons, describing Shadbolt as an "Emperor" of a "personal fiefdom".[5] This triggered an audit by the central government, which found evidence of cronyism and improper management of funds, however not as wide-spread as alleged by Taylor.[5]

Six months after the release of the report, an election was held for the new Waitakere City, a newly formed body composed of the Waitemata City and surrounding West Auckland borough councils. In part due to the controversy, Shadbolt lost to Assid Corban, a member of the Corban family and mayor of the former Henderson Borough Council.[5][9]

He stood in the electorate of West Auckland (which incorporated Waitemata) at the 1990 New Zealand general election as an independent. He placed fifth with 3.06 per cent of the vote.[10] Later that year, he unsuccessfully stood in a by-election for Mayor of Auckland City, polling a distant eighth place.[11] Two years later he stood again for Mayor of Auckland City and also for Mayor of Dunedin, where he finished third place in both elections but performed marginally better in Dunedin.[12][13] Later that year, he stood in the Wellington Central by-election as an independent candidate, polling less than half a percentage point.[14]

In 1993, Shadbolt ran successfully for the position of Mayor of Invercargill. In 1994, he contested the Selwyn by-election as a candidate for New Zealand First, but was placed fourth, and remained Mayor of Invercargill.[4] He was defeated in 1995. In the 1996 general election he stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.[4]

In 1998, Shadbolt was re-elected to the mayoralty and remained the mayor until 2022. In 2001 he was re-elected unopposed.

In October 2002, Shadbolt told a conference of New Zealand's Disabled Persons Assembly that Invercargill had "an innovative approach to public transport, currently centred on 'Freebie the Bus' travelling the 'Purple Circle'". He said he hoped that in future all buses in Invercargill would be free and accessible.[15] (The Freebie and Purple Circle are zero-fare bus routes in Invercargill.)

In 2004 and 2007, Shadbolt won his fourth and fifth mayoral terms by huge margins. In 2010, he won his sixth Invercargill mayoral election. Shadbolt received 16,466 votes over mayoral candidates Suzanne Prentice (5,361 votes) and Carl Heenan (682 votes).[16]

On 8 October 2016 he again won re-election as Invercargill's mayor. He said this was his toughest campaign yet. "I've had two candidates both going flat-out and it was a tough election", he said. "In the past I've had either no contenders, but this time I had a television producer and a sitting councillor who had also been an investigative journalist, so it was pretty tough opposition."[17]

Shadbolt was returned for another term in 2019.[18] In November 2020, however, an independent review of the Invercargill City Council commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs raised concerns about the council's performance, and in particular said Shadbolt was "struggling to fulfil significant aspects of his job", and as a result there is a leadership void at the council. Shadbolt rubbished the report, saying it is flawed and he has been singled out as a scapegoat.[19]

In mid-August 2021, Deputy Mayor of Invercargill Nobby Clark pushed for a vote of no confidence in Shadbolt's leadership. Shadbolt had drawn criticism from fellow councillors for using Invercargill City Council (ICC) properties to store his personal belongings. In response, Shadbolt alleged that he was the victim of workplace bullying and criticised the leaking of a mayoral email to the media.[20][21] On 17 August, it was reported that Invercargil City Council CEO Clare Hadley had illegally accessed an email written by Shadbolt and used it against him during a closed council meeting. Following her apology, Shadbolt and councillors also welcomed an external investigation into the email leak.[22][23] An informal survey conducted by the Otago Daily Times found that 82% of respondents (157 individuals) believed that Shadbolt should resign as Mayor of Invercargill.[23]

In mid-July 2022, Shadbolt was involved in a dispute with Deputy Mayor Clark over whether the Council should cover his rental car expenses when attending a Local Government New Zealand conference in Palmerston North. Shadbolt argued that he was entitled to financial support from the ICC since he was representing Invercargill ratepayers in his capacity as Mayor. Clark contended that Shadbolt should pay for the rental car expenses himself as he had previously done in 2021.[24][25]

In mid-September 2022, Shadbolt attracted media attention when he abstained from participating in the Southland Business Chamber's mayoral debate during the 2022 Invercargill mayoral election. Shadbolt instead issued a statement stating that "After nine terms in office, you should be well aware of my strengths and weaknesses. It is for my challengers to take up the gauntlet and prove themselves to you."[26][27] On 8 October, he lost the election with 847 votes; former deputy mayor Nobby Clark won with 6537.[28][29]

Shadbolt was New Zealand's second longest-serving mayor, after George Perry who was mayor of Hokitika for 31 years (from 1911 to 1942).[30]