'Never Get Ill': Deputy Mayor's Secret To Near-Perfect Meeting Attendance

Thursday, 4 September 2025, 3:09 pm
Article: Matthew Rosenberg - Local Democracy Reporter

Invercargill deputy mayor Tom Campbell has put his exemplary attendance record down to “God-gifted” health. 

“I’m just lucky enough to enjoy good health. I’ve actually not had a single day off work for 20 years,” Campbell said. 

The attendance of Invercargill’s elected members has been provided to Local Democracy Reporting under LGOIMA, showing an average of 88 percent for full council meetings to the end of July. 

Leading the pack is Campbell, who missed just one of 60 meetings. 

The deputy mayor said he had not been a “martyr” to work over the years, but was “lucky enough to be in very robust health.” 

“God-gifted it to me I suppose,” he quipped. 

“I don’t claim any special credit for attending every meeting, it’s just that I never get ill and therefore I never have any reason not to.” 

Campbell said he'd never had the flu and the last time he was seriously ill was when he contracted the measles at about age six. 

His one absence from the past term was on 18 July 2023, which he said was due to visiting the council's sister city Kumagaya. 

Council's standing orders do not include minimum attendance requirements, although elected members lose their role if they miss four consecutive meetings without an accepted apology or leave of absence. 

Campbell is standing for mayor of Invercargill this election alongside fellow councillors Ria Bond, Alex Crackett and Ian Pottinger. 

Joining them are Tom Morton, Andrew Clark, Stevey Chernishov and Gordon McCrone. 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

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