Christchurch City Councillor Tyrone Fields has taken aim at former councillor James Daniels following his decision to withdraw from the upcoming local elections.

Daniels, who previously represented the Coastal Ward from 2019 to 2022, had recently confirmed he intended to return to local government, before pulling out weeks  later.

In a post on his Facebook page, Fields said “I actually don’t have the words to describe how lame this whole thing has been.

“The pretendependents are like the Keystone Cops fumbling around trying to figure out which one of them is going to run, and oops one steps down so the other can run.

“Not sure who is trying to keep who happy here but it’s taking the piss out of Christchurch, in my view.”

 

In the same post, Fields offered praise for the sitting ward councillor Celeste Donovan, writing, “For the record, Celeste Donovan is a brilliant person to work with, and a brilliant person.”

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Coastal Ward Community Board member Jo Zervos has confirmed she will not seek re-election to the board and will instead focus on a bid for council.

In a public post, Zervos said her plans had changed following discussions with her husband and father.

“I have made the decision not to stand for Community Board this election and just focus on Council,” she said.

“It hasn’t been an easy decision as I truly love my Community Board work and my current lifestyle, but I’m ready for a change.”

Zervos said she had been considering a run for council for several years and felt the timing was finally right.

“There is only so much you can achieve from the board table,” she said.

Zervos added that she had a plan B to stand again for the board if no one else had put themselves forward, but others had, which she described as “a good thing for us.”