Phil Wilson

The right wing stoolie in Len Brown’s office, James Bews-Hair, at it again. This time chief of staff Phil Wilson has seen fit to demote Glyn Jones, making way for a new media man for the Night-Mayor.

Dan Lambert has appeared. Not so well known around town as he is a recent import from the UK where he has been doing nifty and clever work for Bank of Scotland and trying cosy up to the Tories.

Looks like Len’s office takes another lurch to the right. Interesting too is how Dan came to the role. Could it be that he is a long time mate of Bews Hair? Did they plot together when Bews Hair was Goff’s SPS and Dan was Maharey’s spin doctor?

What will poor wee Glynn, the Mayor’s handbag holder, think of all this?

When will the patch war within Len’s office end and will Phil ever realise that, like Robertson to Shearer, some are much better at playing the long game than he is.

Phil and Glynn have belittled and victimised Bews Hair for too long; white anting always gets found out especially since Phil and Glynn aren’t very clever at it.

It is also understood that Bernard Orsman is especially bitter, wrongly believing that all his hard work down at the Herald on behalf of the mayor would richly rewarded. It looks like he will have to continue to attend local community board meetings for some time yet.

A couple of months ago I posted that the shadowy James Bews-Hair had been stitched up by the gaggle of gays and self-interested unionists.  It seems that I under-estimated Bews-Hair. I’m told that getting people to underestimate him is one of his favourite tricks.

Just a few months ago I outed the night-mayors chief press secretary, Glyn Jones, for trying to feed me made-up dirt on his colleague, Bews-Hair.  At the time, rather than being punished, it seems that Jones was rewarded.  I predicted that Bews-Hair would be quietly plotting his revenge.  It appears I was right on the money.  Bews-Hair’s attention to detail when it comes to vindication is quite something to behold.  Any member of the VRWC would be so proud.

First up was Glyn Jones little helper, Steve Boyd. Jones had handpicked Boyd, an ex-Chris Carter groupie, to bolster the gaggle in Len’s office.  Part one of Bews-Hair’s revenge was to create a non-existent transport spin job back in the bowels of Council and shove Boyd sideways into it.

Gaggle & Unionists – nil v Bews-Hair 1.

I recently posted about how Bews-Hair engineered a job with his buddies at Todd Corp for Conor Roberts.  While I hear that Bews-Hair racked up all sorts of favours with this manouvre, he also ridded the Mayor’s office of the left-wing influence that he had been battling against.

Gaggle & Unionists – nil v Bews-Hair 2.

And finally, the part that must have been most satisfying.  I hear from the tip-line that the Mayor’s office is frantically looking for a new head spinner (slight problem, no-one is interested but that’s another story).  A few enquiries and it appears that the vacancy resulted from Jones suffering a humiliating demotion.  His new role will see him following lying Len around carrying his handbag and pooper scooper.  From chief press secretary to wiping Len’s arse.  A stroke of genius by Bews-Hair.  As far as vindictiveness goes, this is clinical.

Gaggle and Unionists – Nil v Bews-Hair 3.

Len’s Chief of Staff, Phil Wilson, must be wondering what exactly has happened.  Actually it is pretty simple – this is the result of his own basic political incompetence and inexperience.   Wilson rewarded Jones for attempting to shaft a colleague; a couple of months later and Bews-Hair slashed Wilson’s empire to tatters. With Roberts gone Bews-Hair is the only experienced political operative left in the office.  Effectively Bews-Hair has made himself untouchable.

I have posted before about how Wilson doesn’t like or trust Bews-Hair.  Thanks to Wilson’s own incompetence and political experience he is now in a powerless position. He must absolutely despise Bews-Hair now.

Well played Mr Bews-Hair.

Since I shone some serious sunlight on the political enigma that is James Bews-Hair, I have had many calls from people with chequebooks who want to find out a bit more about him so that they can take advantage of his cunning. My advice now is to get on the phone and talk to him.  From what I hear he’ll probably take your call and you’ll get him angry and dirt cheap.

The reason? Simple.  It has now become very clear just how much they hate him in the town hall.

Let me explain. A couple of weeks ago I outed the Night Mayor’s press secretary (Glyn Jones) for acts of political treachery against Bews-Hair. Glyn is not very smart.  Like many, he should take note of my rules of politics.  If you get caught out playing silly games (regardless of how much your intended target deserves it) then you deserve me highlighting your stupidity.

So despite being outed for attempting to use a right-wing blogger to fight a battle in a Left-wing political office, Jones is still in place doing a comedic impersonation of a media manager.  I understand Jones even got rewarded with a week long, ratepayer funded holiday to Australia.

So why is Jones being rewarded for being a dumb cock, and Bews-Hair being hung out to dry. Again, with decent sources it all becomes very obvious. Let me explain:

1. We already know that Len’s Chief of Staff, Phil Wilson, doesn’t like or trust Bews-Hair and certainly feels threatened by Bews-Hair.  Given the right opportunity Wilson would gladly send Bews-Hair on his way.
2. It was Bews-Hair that turned Len (albeit briefly) into a seemingly sensible, union crusher in the Ports dispute.  Problem is Bews-Hair’s so-called mate Conor Roberts (and others on the Left) hates Bews-Hair for taking Len down that sensible path.
3. I understand that Jones has become the Mayor’s (and indeed the deputy Mayor, Phil Wilson and a host of councillors) newest gay accessory.  He’s actually been quite clever and getting in the ear of all and sundry and using the ‘Chris Carter’ line of “I am being picked on because I am gay.”

From what I hear Bews-Hair is more than a little bit of a homophobe (which is slightly ironic but that is another story).  From the tipline I have been advised that Bews-Hair finds the fag hag behaviour around Glyn Jones disgusting all round.

So it seems that like most of those endangered blokey right wingers in the Labour party Bews-Hair is also being strung up by the much talked about ‘gaggle of gays’ and self-interested unionists.  Typical really. Jones gets caught out playing nasty games (and I continue to get stories via the tipline smearing Bews-Hair) and the target of all this gets punished for being vaguely competent.

If I have learned anything about Bews-Hair, he will be patiently plotting his revenge. But much more importantly, if you want Bews-Hair’s cunning at your disposal, make him an offer. My guess is you will get him dirt cheap.

What did Labour actually need in an Opposition Chief of Staff?  It is pretty simple really:

• Experience in Opposition (it is a totally different world)
• Proven political management
• Machiavallien
• Vindictive
• Sneaky
•  Close existing relationship with the Leader (Shearer)

I am feeling rather proud of myself because the only person within Labour who I can see as possessing all of that has had a good dose of sunlight thanks to me.  By unearthing James Bews-Hair I have exposed a dangerously effective operator with no morals and even less conscience.   Given that he insists on attaching himself to the Left his skillset made him very dangerous to the Right.  Well, I took care of that.  I hear he is now so hated on the Left that no lefty is ever going to hire him again.  He’s even been blamed for turning Lefty Len into a right wing Mayor.

Thankfully this means that despite all of Bews-Hair’s talents he couldn’t possibly have been Shearer’s Chief of Staff even though that is exactly what they need.  We know about Bews-Hair’s political management skills and sneakiness.  Most aren’t aware though that Bews-Hair and Shearer worked together in Goff’s office (when he was Minister) for a number of years.  Bews-Hair was Shearer’s boss.  They certainly know how to work together.  What a crying shame that he is now so tainted to the Left thanks to me for showing him for what he is.

Bews-Hair’s wee stint as Acting Chief of Staff in Len’s office is about to end with the return of Phil Wilson.  As I’ve previously highlighted, Wilson doesn’t like or trust Bews-Hair.  It will be interesting to see what happens to Bews-Hair in the coming months.  He would have been perfect and dangerous on the Left but thanks to my revelations the Left can never touch him again.

There is a side benefit though… eventually he’ll have to go back to right wing corporate lobbying.

So how is it that Len Brown seems to have stumbled across a sensible position on something?  He appears to be leaving the Port company to get on with much needed labour reform while getting rid of MUNZ once and for all. All the more curious given that the idiot pinkos that put him there are disgusted and outraged at their man’s behaviour.

Obviously ex-corporate hatchet-man CEO Doug McKay is egging him on, but with his bulging personal office there must be a political impetus to this.  He must also be getting some rare sound advice. What is happening becomes pretty clear when you look at the key political figures that surround the night-Mayor.

His Chief of Staff, Phil Wilson, is a long-time HR bureaucrat so could know a little bit about effective workplaces. He spent years, however, in the middle of all the awful nonsense that was Manukau City Council – so we can probably rule him out as being behind this.

Wilson’s 2IC is press secretary Glyn Jones. Jones is apparently too busy being a pompous loud mouth (in an attempt to hide his lack of understanding and ability) than having any time to have a sensible view on anything.

Which leaves the two political operatives – Conor Roberts and James Bews-Hair

Roberts is a hero and pin-up boy of the left, loved by the unions and is apparently appalled that the man he put in the Mayoralty isn’t saving the hapless MUNZ.

Bews-Hair on the other hand was from the (now non-existent) blokey right of the 1990′s Labour party and was the long time apologist for union crushing, family wrecking corporate, Sky City. Remember that is the same guy who had a hand in the sweet deal between Auckland City, the Government and Sky City.

Pretty obvious who is behind Len’s inexplicable bout of good sense. Which is great news for the Port and ratepayers, but will probably end up being very bad news for Bews-Hair.

This is causing one-hell of a feud in the Mayor’s office – the sort that can only be settled by someone being jettisoned. Roberts is the reason that Len is there, is heavily protected by almost everyone on the left (union thugs included) and he’s far too young and pretty to be put on gardening leave.  So simply expect in the near future to see Bews-Hairs ill-health (which has seen him in and out of hospital) being used as an excuse for him to skulk off to return to shady lobbying for some dodgy cause.

We certainly won’t see Len suffering a repeat of sensible sound leadership. Instead it will be down to the campaigning skills of Roberts to save his incompetent boss.

Len Brown has a habit of capitulating to Maori sectional interests, this is because for some reason, known only to Len he passionately believes in separatism. At Manukau City he was the biggest advocate for the 18 member Te Tiriti O Waitangi standing committee at council and he defended every single workstream undertaken from the Maori policy wonks.

What is not widely known though is that Phil Wilson, his current Chief of Staff , was tasked by Leigh Auton, also a veteran Maori trougher, to manage that policy divison at Manukau, and they were all located on the same floor as the MCC directors.

He will be desperately trying  to get every councilor to sign off on his compromise in order to cover his political hide. Len Brown needs to have no dissent on this come Monday.

Of course Len Brown and Phil Wilson will be witnesses number one and two respectively in the inevitable court case and asked to explain their personal assurances to the Maori Statutory Board that this expenditure that Len tried to sneak through the finance Committee off agenda, was “reasonable” and that everything would go through without a fuss. They will be asked to reconcile their private statements with their public statements after their cosy little stitch up got outed.

What Len Brown forgets, either willfully or out of simple foolishness is that he Chairs the Finance Committee, and that the Finance Committee is a Committee of the Whole, meaning every councillor sits on it. He can’t blame the committee for putting this item through off agenda, because he was the one chairing the meeting, he was the one pushing for it, and he was the one imploring councillors to support it.

Clearly though what we have here is more in c ast of characters who belong to Len’s cosy club of lieutenants who do the Night-Mayor’s bidding. Leigh Auton covered for Len at manukau and scored a big fat payout at the end then scored again with a CCO appointment, his pals at the Telstra-Clear Pacific Events centre were likewise rewarded, now we see the involvement of Phil Wilson in all this. It is a cosy little club and their antics need the exposure of sunlight.

It took Dick Hubbard a year to unravel, Len Brown is making him look like a consummate professional in unraveling in under three months. If Len Brown is serious that this is all good for the people of Auckland then let’s see him put it to the people of Auckland. We are all sick of politicians telling what is good for us, let us have the say as to what is good for us.

Len Brown hasn’t even met all of his new councillors yet and he has already appointed Penny Hulse as his deputy. The left lean of Auckland just got lefter. So much for inclusiveness. He has also made some key appointments that show how incumbency will be difficult to overcome.

So far, Mr Brown has made two appointments to the mayoral office. His campaign manager, Conor Roberts, will be his chief political adviser. Phil Wilson, who manages the offices of the Mayor and chief executive at Manukau City Council, will be chief of staff.

That is going to put pressure on any opponent, having a full time, ratepayer funded spin weasel political advisor.

Len Brown has been caught, yet again using, council resources to campaign. I have just received the email below, sent by a Manukau City Council staff member under the authority of another MCC staff member from the office of the Chief Executive. The Chief Advisor of the Chief Executive no less.

It seems that staff in the Manukau Chief Executive’s office are now paid campaign members of Len Brown. We always suspected that Leigh Auton was a Brown patsy but now we have irrefutable proof.

We also have irrefutable proof that Len Brown intends to use council maintained databases for his election campaign and council maintained resources for the same campaign.

Mr Brown wishes to now use the database in a different capacity for the purposes of communicating information regarding his campaign for election as Auckland Mayor…

This is an astonishing email. Astonishing in its mendacity and astonishing that Len Brown’s team would even put this in writing.

It isn’t like I haven’t already warned him that I’m watching.

How about Len Brown campaign without cheating, would that be too much to ask? This email is prima facie evidence of breaches of his own council’s policy and also of the Auditor-General’s guidelines.

Not only does Len Brown think he can help himself to ratepayers money, he also thinks that it is ok to use Council provided drivers to campaign and now council databases. The man is a walking thief of ratepayers money.

It is high time that the Auditor-General stepped in over these abuses.

From: Erin Schumacher <Erin.Schumacher@manukau.govt.nz>
Date: Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 3:34 PM
Subject: Changes to Len Brown e-newsletter
To: Erin Schumacher <Erin.Schumacher@manukau.govt.nz>

Greetings,

Your name and email address has previously been on a database used to distribute a regular e-newsletter from Len Brown in his capacity as Mayor of Manukau. For reasons discussed below, we need to inform you of a change regarding this database and give you an opportunity to have your name removed if you so desire.

Most people were on the database prior to Len Brown becoming Mayor of Manukau – in other words, it was effectively his private email list in the lead up to him winning the Manukau Mayoralty in 2007.

Since that time however, the list has been maintained by Manukau City Council and a number of names have been added by that organisation.

Mr Brown wishes to now use the database in a different capacity for the purposes of communicating information regarding his campaign for election as Auckland Mayor and for communication beyond the cessation of Manukau City Council on 31 October 2010.

Because of privacy and anti-spam legislation, it is important that you are informed of this and an opportunity to direct that your name be removed. You can do this by return email by simply asking “please remove my name and details”. You can also do so later by opting to no longer receive emails but of course this would be in response to “new” email newsletters from Len Brown in his private capacity.

I trust this is clear but am happy to clarify further as necessary.

Naku noa na | Regards

Phil Wilson
Chief Advisor
Chief Executive’s Office
T 9 262 5465 | M 0274 510 834 |
phil.wilson@manukau.govt.nz