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2024 Tauranga City Council election

2024 Tauranga City Council election
← 2019 20 July 2024 2028 →
Turnout42,632 (38.77%[a])
Council election
Affiliation Seats Change
  Independents 9 Increase 9
Mayoral election
Mayor before election

Under commission

 Elected mayor

Mahe Drysdale
Independent

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

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Background

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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

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List of candidates

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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

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Main article: 2024 Tauranga mayoral election
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

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Te Awanui Māori ward

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Candidate Ticket (if any) Notes
Suaree Borell Learning, Leading and Leveraging
Ashley Hillis
Mikaere Sydney Tauranga Moana Kōkiritia

Arataki general ward

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Notes

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  1. ^ of eligible voters

References

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  1. ^ Ingoe, Maia (26 April 2024). "Nominations open for Tauranga City Council local elections". RNZ. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Elections 2024 > Information for voters". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Wanted: candidates for council's 2024 election – The Bay's News First". www.sunlive.co.nz. SunMedia. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Dates for the Tauranga City Council Election in July 2024 and the Following Election". New Zealand Gazette. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Elections 2024 > Information for candidates". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Evans, Alisha (24 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election hopefuls confirmed". SunLive. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Elections 2024". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b Sylvester, Catherine (19 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Olympian Mahé Drysdale announces bid for mayor". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
  10. ^ a b c d McConnell, Glenn. "Tauranga's star studded return to democracy". www.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Gillespie, Kiri (14 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election: Several sacked councillors running again". New Zealand Herald.
  12. ^ Evans, Alisha (26 April 2024). "Tina Salisbury to run for Tauranga mayoralty". SunLive. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  13. ^ Evans, Alisha (17 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council nominations off to a slow start". RNZ. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  16. ^ a b "2024 Council Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "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.