Weirdness in Gore

The Herald reported:

An unrepentant social media manager has defended sharing private photographs of Gore mayor Ben Bell amid accusations of dirty politics.

Natasha Chadwick, who was paid $9200 by incumbent mayor Tracy Hicks to run his social media as part of his $14,000 campaign, shared the photos of Bell with media outlets after the election, saying “what he (Bell) does socially is absolutely the people’s business”.

Hicks yesterday said Chadwick approached him during his campaign about using the photos but he declined saying it was not his style.

However, he stood by Chadwick, who says she waited until after the election before sharing the pictures with media, calling her an “absolute professional” who was a pleasure to work with.

I’m sorry but if someone who worked for my campaign was shopping around photos in an attempt to out someone’s private life, I would not then refer to them as an absolute professional.

In an email to councillor Bret Highsted, released to the Otago Daily Times, Bell addressed the issue, saying “unless you get directly from me, it’s simply rumours”.

Highsted replied saying he was not aware of any “explicit” photos of Bell being circulated.

“I have seen a relatively harmless photo of you being kissed on the cheek at what looks like a festival.

“My response … is the next generation would think nothing of it,” Highsted said.

Chadwick, who lives in Tapanui, said she did not share the photos or rumours during the campaign, although she had tried to get the media to pick up on them after her contract with Hicks had ended.

She was unrepentant about spreading the photos.

“To me, if you’re going to run in a public office and you’re going to be in a public space I think you need to present authentically,” she said.

This is pretty disgusting. There’s a photo of Bell being kissed on the cheek by another guy, and this woman is trying to ship it to the media. Is she still living in the 1950s?

I have no idea if Bell is gay or not. Who cares. It seems his real crime is beating her client who seemed to think he was Mayor for life.