2024 Tauranga City Council election|
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| Turnout | 42,632 (38.77%[a]) |
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Council election |
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| Affiliation | Seats | Change | | | Independents | 9 |  9 | Mayoral election |
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Mayor before election
Under commission
| Elected mayor
Mahe Drysdale
Independent | |
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The 2024 Tauranga City Council election was a local election held from 29 June to 20 July in Tauranga, New Zealand, following the end of the crown commission. Voters elected the mayor of Tauranga and 9 city councillors, for the unusually quadrennial 2024–2028 term of the Tauranga City Council. Postal voting and the first-past-the-post voting system was used.
Key dates
Background
These were the first elections for the Tauranga City Council since 2019, following the appointment by the Minister of Local Government of a Crown Commission to oversee Tauranga City Council's governance responsibilities on 9 February 2021.[1]
The Tauranga City Council used the single transferable voting system to elect the Mayor of Tauranga and city councillors[2] for a term that will last until the 2028 local elections.[3][4]
Tauranga City Council created nine electoral wards for these elections. There were eight general wards (Mauao/Mount Maunganui, Arataki, Pāpāmoa, Welcome Bay, Matua-Otūmoetai, Bethlehem, Tauriko and Te Papa) and one Māori ward (Te Awanui, covering the entire city) which each returned one councillor.[2]
Campaign
List of candidates
Nominations for candidates opened on 26 April 2024 and closed on 24 May 2024.[5] The following 86 candidates[6] have been confirmed to be running for the positions of mayor and the nine city councillors:[7]
Mayor
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Tanya Bamford-King | Independent | |
| Aureliu Braguta | Independent | |
| Greg Brownless | Community Focus – Responsible Spending | Mayor 2016–2019[8] |
| Andrew Caie | Independent | |
| Mahé Drysdale | | Olympic champion rower, grandson of former mayor Bob Owens[9] |
| Anthony Goddard | | |
| Chudleigh Haggett | | |
| Ria Hall | | Musician and television presenter[10] |
| Donna Hannah | | |
| BOP Hori | | Also stood in 2016[8] |
| Tim Maltby | Our Rates are too High | |
| Jos Nagels | Visionary Leadership, Not Repeatership | |
| Douglas Owens | Independent | Former Bay of Plenty regional councillor.[8] Son of former mayor Bob Owens, uncle of Mahé Drysdale[9] |
| John Robson[11] | Principled; Professional; Democratic | Councillor 2013–2016, 2018–2021[8][6] |
| Tina Salisbury | People and Progress over Politics | Deputy mayor 2020–2021[12] |
Councillors
Te Awanui Māori ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Suaree Borell | Learning, Leading and Leveraging | |
| Ashley Hillis | | |
| Mikaere Sydney | Tauranga Moana Kōkiritia | |
Arataki general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Sarah-Jane Bourne | | |
| Rick Curach | Pick Rick community needs over wants | |
| Anthony Goddard | | |
| Teresa Killian | | |
| Adrienne Pierce | | |
| Kim Renshaw | Voice for Arataki | |
| Jeroen Van der Beek | A local for Arataki Ward | |
| Andrea Webster | Independent | |
| Harris Williams | | |
| Mike Williams | Common sense on Council | |
Bethlehem general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Charlene Apaapa | | |
| Shelley Archibald | | |
| Felicity Auva'a | Forward with Experience Energy Action | |
| Darren Gilchrist | | |
| Gerry Hodgson | | |
| Jos Nagels | Visionary Leadership, Not Repeatership | |
| Bevan Rakoia | | |
| John Robson[11] | Principled; Professional; Democratic | |
| Kevin (Herb) Schuler | Constructive and Positive Leadership | |
Matua-Otūmoetai general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Tanya Bamford-King | Independent | |
| Ronald Chamberlain | | |
| Glen Crowther | Accountability, Transparency, Community | |
| Suzie Edmonds | Independent | |
| Cam Holden | Independent | |
| Jim McKinlay[10] | | |
| Ken Patterson | | |
| Basie Pikimaui | Tauranga Moana Kōkiritia | |
| Tenby Powell | Our City. Our Future. Together | Mayor 2019–2020 |
| Kim Pritchard | Independent | |
| Mike Rayner | For keeping our current facilities | |
| Zach Reeder | | |
| David Tank | | |
| David Webb | Tomorrow's thriving Tauranga, together | |
Mauao/Mount Maunganui general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Heidi Hughes[11] | Community, environment, future | Councillor 2019–2020 |
| Garth Mathieson | | |
| Teresa Nichols | Independent | |
| Michael O'Neill | Independent | |
| Jacqueline Pointon | | |
| Jen Scoular | Commercial acumen, community heart | |
| Peter Douglas Stanley | | |
Pāpāmoa general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Bryan Archer | | |
| John Bowden | | |
| Phillip Coleman | | |
| Ria Hall[10] | | |
| Tim Maltby | Our Rates are too High | |
| Steve Morris | Championing Pāpāmoa on Council | Former councillor[13] |
| Maaka Nelson | | |
| Craig Purcell | Pāpāmoa Pāpāmoa Proud | |
| Shelley Robb | Independent | |
Tauriko general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Larry Baldock | Let's Keep Moving Forward | Former deputy mayor[11] |
| Murray Guy[14] | Democracy for Tauranga | |
| Marten Rozeboom[10] | | |
| Stephen Wheeler | | |
Te Papa general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Andrew Caie | Independent | |
| Mark Decke | | |
| Chudleigh Haggett | | |
| Reihana Marx | | |
| Terry Molloy | | |
| Jim Smith | Loyal and Local | |
| Rod Taylor | Tauranga True | |
| Barbara Turley | | |
| Abraham (Bram) van Berkel | | |
Welcome Bay general ward
| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Hautapu Baker | Healthy Environment Thriving Community | |
| Aureliu Braguta | | |
| Ethan Brinkman | Ethan for Reason | |
| Robert Coe | Independent | |
| Donna Hannah | | |
| Cameron Templer | Action over Words | |
Results
The official results of the election were released on 25 July.[15] Voter turnout was 38.77%,[16] which compares with a turnout of 40.28% at the 2019 election.[17] Only one woman, Jen Scoular for the Mauao/Mount Maunganui ward, was elected to the council.[17] Two former councillors, Steve Morris and Rick Curach, were re-elected.[17]
Mikaere Sydney was elected as councillor for Tauranga's first Māori ward Te Awanui, which the Tauranga commission had confirmed at a meeting in April 2021 following the passage of the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021. Te Awanui is at risk of dissolution due to the National-led coalition government requiring local councils to hold binding referendums on Māori wards.[18]
Summary[16] | Winning candidate | Position | Ward |
| Mahé Drysdale | Mayor | At-large |
| Jen Scoular | Councillor | Mauao/Mount Maunganui |
| Glen Crowther | Councillor | Matua-Otūmoetai |
| Rod Taylor | Councillor | Te Papa |
| Kevin "Herb" Schuler | Councillor | Bethlehem |
| Marten Rozeboom | Councillor | Tauriko |
| Hautapu Baker | Councillor | Welcome Bay |
| Rick Curach | Councillor | Arataki |
| Steve Morris | Councillor | Pāpāmoa |
| Mikaere Sydney | Councillor | Te Awanui |
Aftermath and analysis
Notes
References
- ^ Ingoe, Maia (26 April 2024). "Nominations open for Tauranga City Council local elections". RNZ. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Elections 2024 > Information for voters". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Wanted: candidates for council's 2024 election – The Bay's News First". www.sunlive.co.nz. SunMedia. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Dates for the Tauranga City Council Election in July 2024 and the Following Election". New Zealand Gazette. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Elections 2024 > Information for candidates". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ a b Evans, Alisha (24 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election hopefuls confirmed". SunLive. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Elections 2024". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Gillespie, Kiri; Wilson, Megan (24 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Who's running and what you need to know about voting". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ a b Sylvester, Catherine (19 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Olympian Mahé Drysdale announces bid for mayor". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
- ^ a b c d McConnell, Glenn. "Tauranga's star studded return to democracy". www.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Gillespie, Kiri (14 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election: Several sacked councillors running again". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Evans, Alisha (26 April 2024). "Tina Salisbury to run for Tauranga mayoralty". SunLive. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ Evans, Alisha (17 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council nominations off to a slow start". RNZ. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Gillespie, Kiri (21 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Murray Guy criticised for handling of user's 'barcode' comment on his page". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ a b "2024 Council Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Megan (21 July 2024). "Mount Maunganui's Jen Scoular only woman elected in Tauranga City Council 2024 election". Bay of Plenty Times. The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ "Tauranga's first Māori ward councillor Mikaere Sydney undergoing medical treatment in hospital". The New Zealand Herald. 22 July 2024. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
