The new mayor of Whangarei says she will be asking the council's chief executive to explain to her why he sacked a council worker for nominating a mayoral candidate.
Mark Simpson fired his personal assistant for signing nomination papers for Stan Semenoff, but allowed his executive assistant to do promotional work for a rival candidate, the council's finance chair.
Sheryl Mai says she is disappointed the issue erupted during the election process.
She says the issue needs further investigation, and she will be asking for briefing papers from the chief executive.
Ms Mai says she feels there were some anomalies and that is what she wants explanations about.
The sacked staff member, Jan Walters, is taking legal action against the council for unjustified dismissal.
