This was not a good sign, when I saw it, for the Opoho stop on the campaign trail for Dunedin Mayor/Council.
This is Philip.
And this is our conversation so far. I will update as new emails come in.
Philip to me, Friday 19th August • 14:32 (it’s long, I suggest just skipping to the end)
Sunday, September 18 from 7pm
August 19, 2022
Dear Dunedin City Council candidates (surnames Mc to W),
This email is to give you notice of, and tell you some of the details about, our DCC candidate meetings at the church in Ōpoho.
The meetings go back more than 30 years, and I’ve been chairing them over about seven or eight council cycles.
They have been popular, and the church is usually packed. You can search via Google, odt.co.nz and a few key words and see photos and reports of previous meetings.
They changed once the ward system for the bulk of Dunedin was dropped, and we introduce a few tweaks each time. Incumbent councillors are familiar with the basic drill.
Half of you are invited for the first night, Sunday, September 18, and half for the second. The split is via surnames, from Mc onwards on the Sunday and A to Ma on the Monday. This is my reversal of the alphabetical norm, and just as a little twist on what might be expected.
While Covid has caused uncertainty and could reduce numbers attending, we are pushing ahead subject to a mask mandate. Without that mandate, I know of several people who would feel they could not risk coming. I note the average age of attendees at such events is high and therefore there are higher numbers of more vulnerable people.
This mandate will be strict. All attendees will have to wear masks. Council candidates can, however, take these off when they come to the lectern to speak and when they are answering quick-fire questions from me.
If you will not wear a mask at these meetings, do not come. I can put in an apology for you.
Although social distancing is impractical, we will ensure the church is not over-packed. There will be scope for a little overflow to a nearby lounge if needed.
We will also endeavour to open windows for a little air circulation if the weather is not too cold.
The meetings start at 7pm sharp. There will be a seven-minute break about 8pm or shortly after. We will finish at 9.10pm.
I will be wearing my Dr Suess Cat Hat, and we plan to have the stag roarer on deck again for timing.
It will be a good idea to come a little early to choose your seat in the row at the front facing the audience and to give me the chance to meet those of you I do not already know.
We will begin with candidates (order by lot) having up to 90 seconds to lay out their cases as they see fit. There will be various questions from me, some with short answers, some yes/no and some multi-choice. After the break, I will have about a minute with each candidate for quick-fire questions, before we return to more questions and, hopefully, the chance for a few from the floor. We operate strictly and sharply because of the number of candidates.
The goal of the meetings is to give everyone the best chance possible to learn about your capabilities, character and views. We expect respectful listening to what will be a range of views, even those with which we might vehemently disagree.
We are taking the chance at this community event to raise a little money for a good community cause. The audience will be asked if they would like to contribute a koha towards the Dunedin Night Shelter. This will be low-key without any sense of compulsion; a couple of donation boxes will be held by church members at the back as people leave.
I will send any more required details, including many of the questions themselves, closer to the evenings, probably during the week before.
Please let me know by email if: 1. You are taking part or not.
2. If you are taking part, you confirm to agree to abide by the mask mandate.
Ōpoho Presbyterian Church is on the corner of Signal Hill Rd and Farquharson St.
These are usually interesting and lively nights, and I thank in advance those taking part.
Ngā mihi nui
Philip
Philip Somerville
The longest introductory of any invite that I’ve so far had. Most are a paragraph long at best.
My response Friday 19th August • 14:53
See you there Philip.
I included my blurb which everyone gets and my photograph which so far only Philip has got ;)
Philp’s (he seems to have dropped a vowel) response Friday 19th August • 17:15
Thanks for replying promptly. Can you confirm the mask mandate question as specified late in the email?
All the best
Philp
My response (blurb included but no photo) Friday 19th August • 21:52
If you want to play stupid buggers then so will I.
I will see you there.
Philip’s (he has retrieved his vowel) response Saturday 20th August • 19:55
Evening Richard,
I'm afraid I'm a bit confused by your last email.
Can you please confirm the agreement re the mask mandate? I'm asking every single candidate to confirm this specifically in writing.
Thanks very much
Philip
My response, quoting just the part of his email that I was referring to, Saturday 20th August • 20:55
probably you're not not getting enough oxygen Philip. You can fix it by adding a few more N95 masks. Ask Brian Roper.
20 Aug 2022, 19:55 by psomer39@gmail.com:
I'm afraid I'm a bit confused by your last email.
This is Brian Roper, a left wing (self described) Lecturer at the Politics Department at Otago University. They undoubtedly know each other. Brian was an absolute clown at the Politics event at Otago Museum on 10th October. We ‘clashed’ twice (basically he tried not to answer my questions twice, the second time extremely farcically).
I followed up this morning Sunday, 21 Aug • 11:04 with this
Just wondering Philip, do you think that it's appropriate that you're trying to gaslight the future Mayor of Dunedin into doing what you tell him or her to do?
Why don't you tell those 6 or 7 who can't possibly countenance others being free of masks to stay at home and watch on zoom instead.
Edit: I have sent one more email to him just now. Sunday, 21 Aug • 13:11
Have a read Philip.
And if you want information on masks feel free to ask. I have all the studies that Jacinda and her Christchurch Call fascist friends from Facebook, Twitter and the American Government have tried to scrub from the internet. Basically their efficacy was being questioned in surgeries in the 2010s and earlier. Let alone at your favourite restaurant (but only while standing)
Regards
Richard
This is Philp (oops) on himself on times to go against group think. He is formerly the editorial manager of the Otago Daily Times which is why he gets such space to expound on himself. Which looks to be his favourite topic.
“There are times to run with the herd and times to go against group think, to question with healthy and ''positive'' scepticism.”
As above I’m sure there’s more to come on this one.
Update 22nd August 09:24. I have added this comment to the article that Philip wrote on Philip. Note the “CAPTCHA session reuse detected” all I did was push the back button so that I could change the last sentence to “(you're the only one demanding them on the campaign trail, as if you were some tyrant)” which scans better.
It’s pretty unlikely that the ODT will allow this one through so it’s more a letter to the person who decides if these comments go up, the ODT journalists who might be shown it and Philip who will undoubtedly get an email advising him of it.
A conversation with Philip