[10] He has also had clashes over bus shelters,[11] criticised Council's financial management – especially the $480,000 bailout of the Otago Rugby Union,[12][13] and faced criticism over his suggestion that Christchurch's earthquake rebuild could be shifted to Dunedin.
[19] The Mayor, Dave Cull, did not appoint Vandervis to any committees, commenting that he had no confidence he could contribute constructively, nor maintain any of the relationships needed to do the work effectively.
[20] On 16 March 2015, Lee Vandervis was subject to a code of conduct hearing dealing with three complaints against him for his alleged bullying, aggressive, and misleading behaviour.
[3] In addition, Vandervis has also opposed a 3.8% rates increase and has called for the council to cut back on staff numbers and to "be run more like a business.
[24] In July 2017, Vandervis settled a defamation lawsuit against Mayor Cull for NZ$50,000 due to legal delays and spiralling costs.
Vandervis was also criticised by Mayor Cull and several fellow councillors including Rachel Elder, Aaron Hawkins, and Mike Lord for alleged bullying and intimidating behaviour.
[26][27] In response, Vandervis defended his actions and claimed that he was the victim of a smear campaign timed to coincide with the 2019 Dunedin mayoral election.
[28] In early September 2019, Vandervis drew criticism when he made remarks that young voters were ignorant or did not care about candidates during a mayoral debate organised by the Otago University Students' Association.
[30] In mid-September 2019, a twelfth complaint was lodged against Vandervis after he allegedly verbally abused some DCC staff members over a parking ticket.
David Benham, chairman of the Otago Regional Council's audit and risk subcommittee, was tasked with conducting an independent investigation into the matter.
The Court of Appeal agreed with both the judicial review and the initial process that the Council had followed, with the exception of noting that Vandervis should have received a written copy of the allegation made against him.
[38] The Supreme Court rejected Vandervis' legal team's application for leave to appeal his parking ticket fine in September.
[1] On 12 October 2019, Vandervis was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council as a councillor but lost the mayoral contest to Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand candidate Aaron Hawkins.
[39][40] In mid-October 2020, independent investigator Steph Dyhrberg found that Vandervis had engaged in intimidatory behaviour during an argument with Deputy Mayor Christine Garey in late July 2020.
"[41] During a conduct hearing held on 27 October, Vandervis' fellow councillors called on him to apologise for his behaviour and seek professional help with anger management, with Mayor Aaron Hawkins likening him to a four-year old.
The Dunedin City Council also warned Vandervis that they would revoke his membership of the Otago Museum Trust Board and the district licensing committee if a "suitable apology" was not delivered.
[44][45] Vandervis' views were supported by University of Otago geography Professor Claire Freeman, who said that contemporary children experienced less freedom than previous generations, reducing their ability to handle risk.
[49] The proposal was initiated by Dudley Benson, to create a visual representation of Dunedin's queer community and stand against bullying, homophobia and transphobia.
His edits removed several relevant passages in the article, including references to various incidents that cast Vandervis in a negative light.
In mid June 2022, Vandervis drew media attention when he questioned the facts of the September 11 attacks, disputing official and eyewitness accounts that two planes had destroyed the World Trade Center's skyscrapers.
Laufiso also claimed that Vandervis made disparaging remarks about Te Pae Māori, which constituted a breach of the DCC's code of conduct.
In addition, Vandervis had objected to Claude Monet's La Debacle work at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery being accompanied by what he regarded as an "irrelevant" Māori language text.
[71] In mid-March 2024, Vandervis was the sole councillor to oppose a DCC motion to adopt draft operating budgets for the purpose of community engagement.
Vandervis issued a prepared statement stating that "I vow to continue to exercise my right to free speech in the public interest and to be part of the diversity necessary for democratic representation on the Dunedin City Council.