Pottinger's perfect attendance record
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Mayor Tim Shadbolt and four Invercargill city councillors have a perfect attendance record at full council meetings this electoral term, data up to early April shows.
Shadbolt, Rebecca Amundsen, Ian Pottinger, Lindsay Thomas and Lesley Soper all attended 25 of 25 full council meetings between the inaugural meeting of the new term, October 26, 2016, and April 2, 2019.
However, the council data shows only Pottinger went to every meeting he was required to - full council meetings, extraordinary council meetings and council committee meetings - with an 81 of 81 attendance rate.
He said there was 'nothing special' in the statistic and showing up to the meetings was the easy part.
'It's a job, you show up for your job … unless you are sick.'
Pottinger said he took holidays in between council meetings and juggled his council commitments around his full time job as a partner at Southland Electronics.
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There is one council meeting he won't be at in person, however - the critical decision on who will get the region's recycling contract on June 5 - but he plans to phone into the meeting and cast his vote from overseas, as he will be on a pre-planned holiday.
At the other end of the scale, Cr Allan Arnold attended 60 of 81 meetings of which he was required, including 20 of 25 full council meetings.
In a text message response, Arnold said he tried to get to as many as possible but he had two other fulltime roles and couldn't always pick his working times.
His other roles added to his views in his decision making, he said.
Arnold also attended workshops and some additional council committee meetings of which he was not a member, as did the other councillors.
Shadbolt said councillors could miss meetings for any number of reasons including sickness and personal reasons.
When apologies were given for not attending the reasons were not documented, he said.
Shadbolt believed he had only missed two full council meetings in the past 30 years.
As mayor he chaired the meetings and they were his 'highest priority'.
Invercargill city council attendance records at full council meetings, council committee meetings and extraordinary council meetings from October 26, 2016 to April 2, 2019.
- Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt - 78 meetings total, including 25 of 25 full council meetings [ Shadbolt is an ex-officio on all council committees]
- Ian Pottinger - 81 of 81 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 25 of 25 full council meetings.
- Lindsay Thomas - 80 of 82 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 25 of 25 full council meetings.
- Darren Ludlow - 78 of 82 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 24 of 25 full council meetings.
- Graham Lewis - 76 of 80 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 24 of 25 full council meetings.
- Rebecca Amundsen - 75 of 80 meetings of which she was required to attend, including 25 of 25 full council meetings.
- Karen Arnold - 72 of 81 meetings of which she was required to attend, including 22 of 25 full council meetings.
- Lesley Soper - 71 of 80 meetings of which she was required to attend, including 25 of 25 full council meetings.
- Alex Crackett - 72 of 82 meetings of which she was required to attend, including 22 of 25 full council meetings.
- Lindsay Abbott - 65 of 79 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 23 of 25 full council meetings.
- Toni Biddle - 64 of 79 meetings of which she was required to attend, including 22 of 25 full council meetings.
- Lloyd Esler - 65 of 80 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 21-25 full council meetings.
- Allan Arnold - 60 of 81 meetings of which he was required to attend, including 20 of 25 full council meetings.
NOTE: All city councillors also attended additional council committee meetings [the numbers varied] of which they were not members of.
Source: Invercargill City Council.