Not helping the stereotype

Stuff reports:

A hairdressing councillor landed himself in hot water for discussing confidential council information about potential chief executives while giving people haircuts. 

Earlier this month, Stratford District councillor Graham Kelly, who owns hairdressing salon 5th Avenue in Stratford, was suspended from the council’s executive, and policy and services committees for breaching the council’s code of conduct. He was also asked to write a private apology.

The stereotype of hairdressers is they love a good gossip. This really reinforces the stereotype with the thought that a councillor was sharing details of Chief Executive applicants with every random person who came in for a hair cut!

On February 13, Kelly phoned Candidate 1 and Candidate 2, as they were refereed to in the report, to say he would not be able to make it to their interviews.

Kelly told Candidate 1 he was impressed with their CV and wanted them to be successful in their application.

The report said Candidate 1 was disconcerted about Kelly’s phone call and reported it before their interview.

Candidate 2 said they had also received a phone call from Kelly, and was told by Kelly the job was likely to go them them or Candidate 1, who Kelly then named.

After the interviews on February 14 and 15, Candidate 3 phoned Volzke after being told they were unsuccessful and said the confidentiality of their name and title had been breached by Kelly, who had told it to one of the clients at his hair dressing salon in Stratford. 

The customer told Candidate 3 that Kelly had “engaged in a long conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, their backgrounds and whether he thought council could work with each”.

He really doesn’t sound suitable to be a councillor if he doesn’t understand basic employment processes. You do not call candidates and tell them who their competition is.