Tauranga City Councillor Hayden Evans has denied Mayor Stuart Crosby's statements that he has tried to help him behind the scenes.
'He certainly has done nothing of the sort,' says Hayden, 'He's done exactly the opposite.”
'In the Sunday News he says he would work with me. In the Bay of Plenty Times he says if he was the boss he would fire me. On SunLive he still wants me there and he's prepared to work with me. He's very indecisive.”

Hayden Evans.

Councillor Rick Curach says the Mayor has told Tauranga City Councillors he wants Hayden gone, and sooner rather than later.
During the two years he has known Hayden as councillor he has never witnessed any aggressive behaviour, says Rick.
'I have regularly spoken with Hayden during this furore and at no time have I felt that his mental or emotional state was of concern to anybody, including himself,” says Rick.
Councillor Murray Guy says Hayden's passion for ensuring processes are integrity based and that public resources are spent wisely has not been well received by a select few.
'It comes as no surprise that his personal and private affairs should become the target for scrutiny and privacy breaches,” says Murray.
'In my opinion Hayden's newness to the political arena, coupled with his openness and sometimes seemingly abrasive manner, has made it easy for his detractors to pursue politically motivated and personal attacks on him.”
He says if there were genuine concerns about Hayden's state of mind the people to call would have been the health authorities, not the police.