Stratford mayoral election candidate Rusty Kane has had an official rap over the knuckles for what his opponent Neil Volzke calls "gross misuse of council promotional material".
But Mr Kane says he wasn't using signed council tourist pamphlets as calling cards to promote himself as a political candidate.
"It was a perfectly innocent thing, I was just doing it for Stratford," he says.
Mr Kane began his campaign for votes this week.
On Sunday he went to the information centre and was given, at his request, 100 28-page glossy pamphlets paid for by the Stratford ratepayers. He didn't say who he was. They cost $1 each to produce.
On Monday Mr Kane began door-knocking in the town, giving pamphlets to people who answered, and leaving one for those who didn't, signed on the back: "Rusty Kane called" and the date.
Acting Mayor Mr Volzke, in response to people calling him about this, advised the acting chief executive Mike Avery and issued a media statement about his concerns.
"I was less than impressed," he said. "The pamphlets are expensive to produce and are funded by our ratepayers.
"He shouldn't have asked for them, he shouldn't have been given them and he shouldn't have used them the way he did, as a calling card.
"It's council money down the dunny as far as I'm concerned."
He viewed Mr Kane's use of them to promote himself as "a gross misuse of council promotional material. These pamphlets are produced by council to promote the district to tourists and visitors. Instead Rusty Kane has chosen to use them as a calling card during his door-knocking campaign. He should know better".
He raised the matter with acting chief executive Mike Avery, who instructed the information centre not to give any more to Mr Kane. So on Wednesday when Mr Kane asked for more, he was declined.
Mr Avery then had a meeting with Mr Kane and told him it was "totally inappropriate to use council promotional material".
But he says the council won't be billing him for the pamphlets.
Mr Kane said it "sounds like I'm making some traction because people are complaining to my opposition. Mr Avery told me if I wasn't an election candidate it would have been OK. So instead of handing out a pamphlet I can instead show it and tell people where they can get one. I'm standing for democracy. It means instead of Neil Volzke being elected unopposed, people actually get to vote for him. I'm doing him a favour.
"I don't really expect to win, but I hope to get 50 per cent of the votes. I think I'll give him a fright anyway. Welcome to Kane County.
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