The latest member to join the ranks of a troubled Southland community board says he’s undeterred by the attention the group has recently received.

Jamie Winsloe has been elected unopposed to the Oreti Community Board following a by-election.

His arrival follows a tumultuous couple of months for the board, including the overthrowing of former chair Colin Smith at a tense public meeting, and the replacement of a council appointee.

Winsloe replaces former-member Karen Maw at the table, whose sudden resignation on July 12 sparked the by-election.

Based out of Wallacetown, 15 minutes from Invercargill, Winsloe runs a small engineering business and is a volunteer firefighter.

He said he was looking forward to the new role and hoped to be a good spokesperson for the community.

“What inspired me to run was just getting stuff done. Putting the community needs first, and really just helping out where I can.”

Winsloe said he was encouraged to run for the vacant seat by a couple of people who twisted his arm, then decided to “give it a go” after doing some research.

“I come from . . . a project management/design background, so I'm familiar with working around trying to get to a resolution.

“So hopefully I can sort of harness that and bring that to the table.”

In relation to the board’s recent issues, Winsloe said there was no point dwelling on the past.

He enters under the board's Makarewa subdivision.

A timeline of troubles

On June 24, the Oreti Community Board voted against progressing CCTV upgrades for the small Southland town of Winton, despite a strong community push for the project and recommendation from Police.

The upgrades were supported by former chair Colin Smith, deputy chair Philip Dobson and then-council appointee Darren Frazer, but the trio were outvoted by the five other members.

Following the sudden departure of member Karen Maw on July 12, a letter was penned by four board members on July 23 requesting a meeting be held to overthrow Smith as chair.

Those members — Katie Allan, Dave Diack, Chris Herud and Tracy Kennedy — got their wish at a packed-out August 19 meeting.

Smith received a strong show of support from a vocal crowd that night but was ultimately ousted.

That same week, councillor Frazer requested he be removed from his position on the board.

He was replaced on August 26 by deputy mayor Christine Menzies.

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