The Hamilton councilor will face no further consequences for his expletive-laden tirade

The Hamilton councilor, who wrote an expletive-laden public submission to neighboring Waipā District Council, will face no further consequences.

Andrew Bydder was censured by his fellow council members and ordered to apologize for offensive comments and derogatory comments.

Bydder was found in breach of Hamilton City Council’s code of conduct for the comments, which included telling Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan to get rid of her “fat ass”. and do her job well.

Bydder also asked Waipā District Council staff: “What the hell are you doing?”

The public submission related to a consultation for a third bridge in Cambridge, where Bydder lives, and attracted 23 complaints, including one from Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate.

Independent researcher Mary Hill said Bydder should apologize to O’Regan and publicly to disability organizations IHC and the Cerebral Palsy Society. However (

he refused) and has so far ignored a recommendation to undergo behavioral training.

Bydder told RNZ he had done so ignored the recommendations because the process was corrupt.

“The deadlines have passed. Nothing is happening. I’m not doing anything. I don’t believe the council can do anything. They could ask me to resign – I’m not going to do that. It’s a complete waste of time.”

He pointed out that he has already publicly apologized for any violations during the council meeting to decide whether he broke the code.

Daniel Clay, president of the Cerebral Palsy Society, said the organization had not received an apology from Bydder.

“The word s*****c describes a medical condition related to cerebral palsy and should not be used in a derogatory manner,” Clay said. “People with cerebral palsy have enough challenges in life without comments like this being made.”

On Tuesday morning, Hamilton City Council CEO Lance Vervoot released a statement saying the code of conduct process was limited in what it could do to manage bad behavior and performance from elected members.

“I share the disappointment of Andrew Bydder’s council colleagues that the apology requested from him was not submitted within the deadline. This is a missed opportunity for him to engage with the people and communities he has offended.”

Vervoot said that Bydder had also indicated that he would not implement the final advice to undergo behavioral training as of December 1.

“This was proposed to help him meet the expectations of an elected member of Hamilton City Council, by fellow councilors and community members, and to provide him with insight into his professional conduct.”

He said that given the lack of options available to force Bydder to comply with the penalties, the council would not pursue the case.

“This does not change the outcome of the code of conduct process, which found that the complaints revealed material breaches of the code.

“It is hoped that he will reconsider his refusal to adhere to the council’s decisions so that this code of conduct process can reach a full resolution.”

The municipality’s code of conduct is now being revised.

Vervoot said the council supported local government efforts in New Zealand to push for reform of the code of conduct process for all councils.

In July, shortly after RNZ revealed Bydder’s entry, Southgate and O’Regan wrote to the local government minister call for the establishment of an independent arbitrator to handle complaints about the municipality’s code of conduct. However, Simeon Brown rejected the request, saying he had no intention of intervening and expected councilors to meet their obligations under the Local Government Act.

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