The urinating drink driving Mayor

Whale Oil has long suggested (OK, this is Whale – he stated) that some of the more bizarre texts and e-mails from North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams occur while he is under the influence. This has always been denied. Today’s story in the SST by Jonathan Marshall, kills the credibility of those denials:

By chance, the Star-Times observed Williams drinking barside at Takapuna’s GPK bar and restaurant around 10pm on Thursday. He talked to a couple at the popular eatery and could be heard referring to himself in the third person. He said he was North Shore’s mayor and enjoyed his role.

And has been having an extended sulk that mean old Rodney and the Government have taken his job away.

Inquiries with two bar staff revealed Williams had been drinking red wine at the establishment since 4pm. Six hours later Williams left GPK alone and headed down Hurstmere Rd towards the offices of the North Shore City Council, where he has been mayor since 2007.

On his way he stopped, pulled down his trousers and urinated on a tree outside the council offices.

Having the Mayor down trou and take a piss outside the Council offices just makes your city a laughing stock.

And you have to wonder how pissed one has to be to do such a thing, considering he could have gone inside to use their toilets.

Williams then headed for the council underground carpark, collected his mayoral vehicle and drove home to Campbells Bay, a 6km trip.

Williams appears to have got home without incident.

This is potentially the most serious aspect. Now it is possible to drink for six hours and be under the legal limit. However the urinating outside the Council offices strongly suggests a considerable degree of drunkenness.

Shortly after Williams arrived home he sent an email to members of his council’s executive team in which he commented on a scheduled visit the following day by Hide and acting Housing Minister Maurice Williamson.

“These two individuals deserve any and all appropriate comments in relation to the rape and pillage of the North Shore by this Auckland takeover. I have only utter contempt for both of them,” Williams’ email, sent at 11.38pm, says.

I understand the North Shore Council staff were in fact totally professional, and very embarrased by the e-mail their drunken Mayor had sent out to them all.

But eight hours later, when Williams appeared on TV1’s Breakfast, co-host Paul Henry asked the mayor if he respected Williamson.

“Maurice is a good guy, I like Maurice,” Williams replied.

So either he is lying, or he was so drunk when he wrote the e-mail, he does not remember it. Unless he often says “I have only utter contempt” about people he says he likes and is a good guy.

Yesterday, outside his home, Williams told the Star-Times he had not been drinking on Thursday night but a few minutes later said he might have been, he just couldn’t “recall”.

He said he didn’t know if he had been drinking at GPK, and when challenged he responded: “Oh really? That’s interesting.”

So he denied he had been drinking initially and then said he can’t recall. To be fair to him, it is possible he can’t recall.

Asked if he had been working on Thursday evening, Williams replied: “I can’t recall. I might have been. I go to meetings every day, every night.”

Meetings? Like these:

Further inquiries that evening at GPK revealed the mayor was a “very frequent visitor”, “possibly one of our most regulars”, said one waitress.

That’s a lot of meetings.

Questioned about why he urinated on his way to collect his mayoral vehicle, Williams said: “I’m not going to talk about it.”

Maybe he genuinely can’t remember it also? That happens when you have drunk to excess.

When news broke last year of Williams’ early morning texts to Key – which the country’s leader branded “aggressive” and “obnoxious” – the mayor blamed painkillers.

He denied suggestions the texts were sent because he was drunk, saying he had not been intoxicated since his 21st birthday.

So he decided to take a piss outside the Council offices stone cold sober?

Maybe he was also on painkillers on Thursday!

In August 2008 Williams collapsed at a Devonport Naval Base function and lashed out at attending ambulance officers. He was hospitalised. Williams later insisted he had “no recollection” of it and was just “exhausted” from an overseas trip.

There does seem to be a real pattern here.