High-profile Westport councillor dies suddenly

A high-profile Westport man, Frank Dooley, died suddenly on Sunday.

Dooley, 70, was a West Coast regional councillor, chief executive of Buller Electricity, chairperson of the O'Conor Home Management Committee and a director of Pulse Energy and Pioneer Renewables.

Born in Denniston, Dooley lived most of his life in Westport. He founded and was the principal of the accountancy firm F T Dooley Ltd for over 30 years and was a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Dooley was elected as a Buller representative on the West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) in 2022 after a passionate campaign for Westport's flood protection. He chaired WCRC's Risk and Assurance, Remuneration and Corporate Services committees.

He previously held trustee or director positions on Westland Milk Products, Development West Coast and Buller Holdings. He relinquished his role as Buller Electricity chairperson when he took on the chief executive role earlier this year.

WCRC chairperson Peter Haddock said Dooley was a great advocate for Buller and the wider West Coast community. He had made a significant contribution in his time at WCRC.

"He had an incredible passion for ensuring systems and processes were correct at a council level and had the ratepayers' best interests always at the forefront in any decision-making," Haddock said.

"Frank was instrumental in the rebuilding of the WCRC and the success of the reorganisation is testament to Frank's commercial abilities.

"Our council and the Buller and West Coast will be poorer with Frank's passing. My sincere condolences go out to Jo and Frank's family."

O'Conor Home manager Susan Watson worked with Dooley for almost 16 years.

"He was the best manager I ever worked for. He worked tirelessly for the elderly people of the Buller community."

Watson said Dooley was a visionary, always looking ahead to the next project. All his work with O'Conor Home was voluntary.

He worked well with staff, always aiming to do right by them, and advocated for the whole community, from young people to the elderly, Watson said.

BEL board chairperson Shannon Hollis said Dooley would be greatly missed.

"The Buller Electricity whānau are devastated and wish to express our heartfelt condolences to Josephine, Shannon, Anna, Erin and the wider family. No words can express how thankful we are for Frank's contribution to our company and wider community," Hollis said.

"Frank was a champion for our region, his contributions were second to none."

Former West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor said he was still in shock after hearing of Dooley's death.

"Frank has been a friend, a supporter and a passionate Buller advocate all his life. He's taken on many battles… on behalf of a whole range of people in the community. He never shied away from a scrap," O'Connor said.

"Our community will be a lot poorer for the loss. I have a huge sympathy for Jo and the family who deserved the time to spend with him in his retirement… He was a workaholic. He was always over the detail of every single thing he did."

O'Connor said the grandstands at Westport's Victoria Square and Patterson Park would be "much quieter without Frank".

Dooley was a passionate Buller rugby and Westport Rugby Club supporter.

He was also a long-time supporter and sponsor of the Westport Trotting Club.

Club president Johnny Reedy Jnr said Dooley was the most loyal Buller person you could ever come across.

"He wasn't afraid to tell us if he thought we were getting it wrong… He's going to be sadly, sadly missed."

Reedy said Dooley was passionate about the community and "not afraid to step on any toes".

Dooley was no stranger to controversy.

He led a coup that toppled former WCRC chair Allan Birchfield and the pair frequently crossed swords.

He recently lost a defamation case against Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine.

Dooley is survived by his wife Jo (Josephine), adult children Shannon, Anna and Erin, and grandchildren Lucy, Fergus and Grace.

- This story was originally published by the Westport News.