Council CE caught out in awkward hot mic moment
The Chief Executive of Kāpiti Coast District Council, Darren Edwards, has apparently been caught out by a hot microphone during the council’s livestream of their latest meeting, with the comment being picked up by a careful listening member of the Waikanae community.
Following the conclusion of members of the public speaking to items on the agenda, Edwards turns towards Mayor Janet Holborow and appears to allegedly say “Man, they drink from the Kool-Aid when Salima speaks.” It seemingly is in reference to the contents of whatever the final speaker from the previous segment, Salima Padamsey, has said to the council, along with nearly seven minutes of questions to her from elected members.
In response to Edwards’ comment, Mayor Holborow quickly mutes her microphone while a staff member looks on evidently in concern at the remarks.
Accusing people of drinking from the Kool-Aid is a derisory idiom, defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as implying that someone is accepting “ideas or suggestions willingly or without asking questions.”
It’s not immediately clear who the “they” is that Edwards could potentially be referring to in his comment. It could be other members of the public who were in attendance and whose reactions during Padamsey’s speaking slot can’t be seen on camera. Alternatively it could also be about councillors who, presumably in good faith, were asking her questions about the issues she raised.
Kāpiti Coast District Council has been approached for comment and this story will be updated if and when it’s provided.
Update 3 February 2025: Justin Wong from The Post has done some great reporting on the story, including getting comment from Coastal Ratepayers United’s Salima Padamsey. The defence being mounted by the Chief Executive that it wasn’t intended to be derogatory to anyone just isn’t credible.
As is noted in The Post’s story, the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” originated in the aftermath of the Peoples Temple mass-murder in Guyana when 918 people - including hundreds of children - were forced and tricked into drinking a cyanide-laced flavoured drink by religious cult leader Jim Jones.
The way this saga is unfolding reminds me of the quote attributed to US politician Howard Baker: “It is almost always the cover-up rather than the event that causes trouble.”
Update 3 February 2025: In what can only be described as a feat of contortion worth of the Olympics, Kāpiti Coast District Council has provided the following defence of the Chief Executive’s Kool-Aid comment while directing any concerns about the Chief Executive’s performance to the Mayor.
“The calibre of public speakers at Thursday’s Council meeting was high. The comment you are referring to was made in the context of Ms Padamsey’s extraordinary ability to hold a presence in any environment when she speaks, whether it be online or in person, which is a quality few people possess.”
Honestly, I’m a seasoned communications professional and I have to take my hat off at the extraordinary spin being applied here with a straight face.
Update 3 February 2025: Districtwide councillor Liz Koh has weighed in on the issue, dismissing community concerns over the Chief Executive’s comment as “petty” and wanting people to “allow him to be human”, stating that the Chief Executive has “the full support of the Mayor and Councillors” and requesting that a post discussing the issue be removed from Facebook.
Assuming what everyone seems to have heard on the recording is accurate, I think Edwards comment was unwise and unprofessional and he should unreservedly apologise.
I also think that should be the end of the matter.
It’s only natural that council staff, just like elected members, are going to have opinions on each other, members of the public, and the nature of the content that’s presented before them during the course of their work. Nobody can really begrudge them that.
However, they’re also required under the codes of conduct for staff and elected members to treat people with respect.
It’s irrelevant who “they drink from the Kool-Aid” was directed at - the public or elected members - as the Chief Executive is required to act professionally and treat all people with respect at all times.
The merits or not of whatever Padamsey was saying and then being asked about by elected members doesn’t matter either. She was within her rights to present to council on matters they’re considering and elected members were within theirs to ask her questions.
Nor does it matter that Edwards’ remark wasn’t intended to be caught on a hot microphone - making an observation that you think people are drinking from the Kool-Aid is not really an opinion that a council’s top official should be sharing about anyone.
It also doesn’t matter that the remark was made by the Chief Executive rather than an elected member. The Chief Executive is the senior most staff member at council, the advisor-in-chief to elected members, and is responsible for ensuring their decisions are put into action. If it was a more junior staff member making a similar offhand remark it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s time.
But everyone makes mistakes.
Provided they promptly own those mistakes and unreservedly apologise, then we should endeavour to accept their apology in good faith unless given reason otherwise and I hope that’s what ends up happening here.
Also please remember - treat every microphone as live!
In terms of disclosure, during my term on Kāpiti Coast District Council (2019-22) we hired Edwards as our new Chief Executive, a decision which I supported. I’ve also met and dealt with him since leaving council on a couple of issues and have generally found him to be fine to deal with. I also met with Padamsey a couple of times while I was on council in her capacity as a representative of Coastal Ratepayers United (CRU) to try and better understand their specific concerns around the Takutai Kāpiti community-led coastal adaptation project. CRU’s legal challenge to the council’s previous attempts to address coastal hazards on the District Plan was what led to Takutai Kāpiti being put in place.