HCC Councillor Dave Mcpherson suggest Erotica be held at a school!
24 November 2011
Updated 18:30
In a bizarre twist, David Mcpherson (pictured), the Hamilton City Councillor who made the motion at the Council meeting last Tuesday to ban the Erotica Lifestyles Expo from the ratepayer owned Claudelands events centre has sent an email to Erotica spokesperson David Crow in which he states:
"Perhaps you could look to avoid confrontation for once and try booking one of the many large school or other private facilities available for hire around Hamilton – see how you go! I book a number of these frequently, and know they charge considerably less than Claudelands."
Is this guy serious! Erotica at a school. Sorry Dave, healthy-minded adults don't lurk around schools so you won't find any of us there...
Click HERE to download a PDF of the emails to and from Councillor Dave Mcpherson which are reproduced below for ease of reading. Some of this is quiet disturbing coming from an politician and public SERVANT:
We suggest you read from the bottom (oldest) upwards. Emails from Erotica are in purple, Mcpherson's are in black.
_________________________________
From: "Dave Macpherson" <Dave.Macpherson@council.hcc.govt.nz>
Date: 24 November 2011 1:32:00 PM NZDT
To: "Accounts" <accounts@vixen.co.nz>
Cc: "Lance Vervoort" <lance.vervoort@hcc.govt.nz>, "Councillors" <Councillors2@hcc.govt.nz>, "Daniel Adams (Waikato Times)" <daniel.adams@waikatotimes.co.nz>, "Dermott Malley" <Dermott@truthweekender.co.nz>, "Mark C. Wilson" <mcwilson@mediaworks.co.nz>, "Nikki Preston" <Nikki.Preston@nzherald.co.nz>
Subject: Re: Proposed Claudelands Sexpo
Dear David - for someone that doesn't want to continue dialogue, you sure send long emails!
At least I found this email more thoughtful.
Just one extra comment, re bureaucracy, you obviously disagree with our decision, but it was the bureaucrats who recommended we allow your show - we overturned that for political reasons. I probably have no more interest in bureaucratic processes than you would.
Thanks
Dave Macpherson
+6421477388
_______________________________________
Mr Macpherson
I see no benefit in continuing a dialogue with you. The ratepayers of Hamilton will make their own judgement about you and your fellow Councillors, which is their democratic right and thankfully something you can't decide for them.
Some points however:
1. The reason we did not hang around to listen to the dialogue is because no one could tell us with any certainty when it would happen and even if we had under your “rules” we cannot speak so there would have been little point.
2. It is irrelevant what I feel your community thinks. They are the ones posting on the various websites etc. not me, so my counter argument would be that you only THINK you know what they want, the evidence to date would suggest you don't. These are also the people you are meant to be representing.
3. So you're not a churchgoer, my apologies for implying you were. For the record I have nothing against churchgoers (I may even be one for all you know)
4. What you think is “right” is actually irrelevant – it is what is legal. ALL aspects of our expo and the “Boobs on Bikes” parade are LEGAL.
5. A school's facilities would be unsuitable for us for two reasons – they aren't big enough and our show builds on a Thursday and runs Friday-Saturday inclusive with break down on Monday. Another detail you would have been aware of had you researched our show before judging us. As an aside schools don't tend to like large numbers of people wandering around their grounds while they are operating.
6. We are sure the owners of the hotels/motels (we anticipate that our requirements would have been 400+ room nights), restaurants (feeding 100+ people for 3-4 days), local rental car companies, the freight companies, the catering company etc. etc. appreciate your lack of business acumen.
It is disappointing that a business that is legal in New Zealand under the laws of the land has to go to the extent of incurring legal costs in order to be able to go about their LEGAL business.
And all this from a person whose election profile states he has “experience battling a wide range of bureaucracies” and who is the “Chairperson - Finance & Monitoring Committee”. You appear to be relishing your role on the other side of the bureaucracy table. It's also nice to know that you will be the one fronting to the Hamilton ratepayers to explain why their city continues to lose money.
All the best.
Regards
David Crow
For/On Behalf
Esprit Events Ltd
_______________________________________
From: Dave Macpherson [mailto:Dave.Macpherson@council.hcc.govt.nz]
Sent: Thursday, 24 November 2011 11:32 a.m.
To: Accounts
Cc: Lance Vervoort; Councillors; Daniel Adams (Waikato Times); Dermott Malley; Mark C. Wilson; Nikki Preston
Subject: Re: Proposed Claudelands Sexpo
Thank you for your reply Mr Crow, and I apologize for mis-spelling your name, which often happens to me.
In both your first email and your submission to Council you threatened legal action & you appear to confirm that in the latest email, my case rests. Many people threaten legal action to try and frighten others into agreeing with them - clearly you did not frighten us enough, and if you had bothered staying to listen to the discussion, you would have heard that our staff had already sought legal advice.
Far from being worried about the 'groundswell' of public opinion generated in the Times website by that papers' interview of it's own website, I think I know our community better than you, and am confident I am representing them adequately on this issue.
And as for your stupid comment about the people I spoke to being 'from my church' - I think that shows the calibre of your arguments. They were not from any church and I am not a churchgoer, but you certainly showed your bias.
The Times also thought brothels should be allowed in residential areas of Hamilton, and supported a casino in Hamilton. That doesn't make it right, nor does it mean that they the majority just because a few dozen website readers say so, after only having read an article covering only one viewpoint.
But thank you for your interest in making money out of Hamilton; perhaps if your "adult lifestyles expo" (yeah, right!) wasn't so closely associated with your sleazy, provocative and amateurish 'boobs on bikes' parade, you might have had more support.
Your response to my point about hiring a school facility is interesting - clearly you realize they wouldn't hire their facilities to you (you could book them out of hours), so what makes you think the Council should do your bidding? It's nothing to do with a moral issue for me - I just don't agree we (or you) should be making money out of an event that exploits women. And I hear what you say about all the healthy things on display there at your sexpo (note the small 's') and I view that as convenient camouflage for your underlying rationale.
Yours sincerely
Dave Macpherson
+6421477388
_______________________________________
Mr Macpherson
Firstly my name is spelt Crow not Crowe.
My email was not to you and while I do not see how you or anyone could possibly consider it threatening I apologise if you feel threatened by an email I sent to a third party and then obviously forwarded to you by that person, or someone else.
As far as my verbal submission to the meeting. If you found it threatening then obviously I did what I intended to do and that was to strike a nerve/warn you and your fellow Councillors that what you were contemplating was illegal. You would only feel threatened by what I stated if there was some truth in it. If you were/are sure of your position then you have no need to feel threatened.
My comment re your re-election is not illogical AND was made before the real media groundswell against you started. You yourself admit on the Waikato Times that you held an informal discussion with 16 people, your church group by any chance?. 13 were against the expo. This you use as justification online for your voting as you did. You may well reap the benefit on poll day of making a decision based on a “significant” sector of the Hamilton Public, all 16 of them. Given that at that meeting I reported that 39 out of 40 people on the Waikato Times website were in favour obviously you missed the fact that there was a ground swell building against you and your fellow councillors. When I went to school 39 was greater than 13.
The poll currently being run by the Waikato Times shows 96.5% in FAVOUR of the Erotica Lifestyles Expo. The ratepayers believe that you do not have the legal right to make a decision on “moral” grounds/make these decisions for them. As regards your comment about “our social media supporters”, we find it incredibly naive of you to think we have influence over readers of both the Waikato Times and the NZ Herald. Unlike you we do not think for other people!
You keep referring to our show as sexpo, it is not Sexpo, which is a registered trademark for a show held in Australia by another organisation. You also appear to be under the illusion that it is all about sex. It is an Adult Lifestyles Expo. This was clearly explained to you on page 2 of the 3 page report provided to yourself and the remainder of the Strategy & Policy Committee by Mark Christie (this is page 288 of your agenda as provided to us by the Council). Did you miss the second bullet point under point 16, Background, which states
“There seems to be some misconceptions about the Erotica Lifestyles Expo, mostly due to the name ‘Erotica'. Erotica Lifestyles Expo is a lifestyle and expo targeted at adult consumers and it exhibits anything from cars to boats, fashion to house ware, food to alcohol, hi-fi to fishing equipment and from bedding to eyewear.”
As for your suggestion that we hold the event in a school – I'm still laughing at that suggestion – you make the decision on moral grounds that the Hamilton ratepayers can't benefit from our hiring THEIR venue and in the next breath suggest we approach a school.
While I have nothing against the Rodeo it is interesting to note that you and your fellow Councillors are happy to accept bookings for an event that a number of your ratepayers are against on the grounds it exploits animals and which a number of cities in the world have declined to allow for this very reason.
You are entitled to your viewpoint and funnily enough we will defend your right to that to the end unlike yourself. What we will not accept is you trying to force your viewpoint on other people, including those that carry the financial burden created by these viewpoints.
In closing, we do note that you did not ask a single question of us at the meeting. In fact other than a single female Councillor asking us about “Boobs on Bikes” not one Councillor took the opportunity to question us.
Regards
David Crow
For/On Behalf
Esprit Events Ltd
_______________________________________
From: Dave Macpherson [mailto:Dave.Macpherson@council.hcc.govt.nz]
Sent: Wednesday, 23 November 2011 11:09 p.m.
To: Accounts
Cc: Lance Vervoort; Councillors
Subject: Proposed Claudelands Sexpo
Dear Mr Crowe
Thank you for your threatening email below.
The comments in your email are of a similar nature to the threatening comments you made at our Council Committee meeting and, to me, show how you do business.
According to the one Councillor who voted in favour of your proposal, plus some of your social media supporters, the majority of Hamiltonians think you should be able to hold your event in Council's premises. If this view is correct, then how would our 9-1 decision help us get re-elected? Your statement is illogical.
It is your view that Council has taken a moral stance. It is my view that your company's event, and the Boobs on Bikes parade which you admitted was linked (informally) to your event, exploit women – and do so for the purposes of the private good of your company's owners. Council has every right to accept or reject any bookings for venues in its control.
Should you wish to hold your Sexpo in private premises, the Council would not be expressing an opinion on that, much less be able to stop it. Perhaps you could look to avoid confrontation for once and try booking one of the many large school or other private facilities available for hire around Hamilton – see how you go! I book a number of these frequently, and know they charge considerably less than Claudelands.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Dave Macpherson
Hamilton City Council
Private Bag 3010, Hamilton, NZ
Ph. +6421-477 388
dave.macpherson@hcc.govt.nz
Ph. +6421-477 388
dave.macpherson@hcc.govt.nz
_______________________________________
From:Accounts [mailto:accounts@vixen.co.nz]
Sent:Wednesday, 23 November 2011 11:08 AM
To:Mark Christie
Subject:FW: Claudelands
Sent:Wednesday, 23 November 2011 11:08 AM
To:Mark Christie
Subject:FW: Claudelands
Mark
Thank you for your time and efforts and that of your staff. On a personal note I'd have to say I was very impressed with the venue and the functionality built in to it. The people behind it certainly did a very good job, much better than some of the other recently developed venues we have looked at.
We are obviously disappointed that the Council wants to take a “moral” stand when we have clearly proven previously that this is not the role of the Council i.e. is illegal.
Unfortunately the ratepayers of Hamilton have to bear another financial burden because politicians are more interested in doing what they believe will get them re-elected or what they believe personally instead of what is in the best interests of the people they are meant to be representing, the ratepayers.
Unfortunately for Hamilton City this is round 1, more to come …
Regards
David Crow
For/On Behalf
Esprit Events Ltd
