2024 Tauranga mayoral election

2024 Tauranga mayoral election
← 2019 20 July 2024 2028 →
Turnout41,427 (37.88%[a])
Reporting
82%
as of 12:00 20 July 2024 NZST
 
Candidate Mahé Drysdale Greg Brownless
Affiliation None[b] None[c]
Vote count — —
 • First 9,915 (24.11%) 5,692 (13.84%)
 • Final (14th) 16,178 (39.05%[d]) 10,293 (24.85%[d])
Mayor before election

none

 Elected Mayor

Mahé Drysdale
(provisional)

The 2024 Tauranga mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of Tauranga as part of the 2024 Tauranga local elections. The election took place between 29 June and 20 July 2024, with provisional results released on the evening of the latter. It is the first election since the Minister of Local Government appointed a Crown Commission on 9 February 2021 to oversee all of Tauranga City Council's governance responsibilities. The election was held using the Single Transferable Vote system.[1]

Provisional results indicated that Mahé Drysdale was elected.

Background

[edit]

The last mayor, Tenby Powell, was elected to the office in October 2019 but resigned in November 2020, eight months after he was unanimously censured by his council for an angry outburst.[2][3] Following further mayoral "outbursts,"[4][5] Powell publicly called for the Minister of Local Government to appoint a commission to replace the "dysfunctional" council.[6][7] The decision to cancel the election for a new mayor and councillors, and the appointment of a crown commission instead by Local Government minister Nanaia Mahuta was not without controversy. A legal opinion by law firm Russell McVeagh found her decision may have been "unlawful"[8] and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges called the decision "dramatic and draconian",[9] while saying that Powell quitting removed "a significant source of friction" and it was reasonable to assume the council would become more functional with the election of a new Mayor and Councillors.[10]

The 2022 local elections were cancelled by the government and the commission will remain in place until an election for members of the Tauranga City Council is held on 20 July 2024. Additionally, the Minister also decided to postpone the 2025 local election in Tauranga until 2028.[11] The council elected in 2024 will thus serve a four year term, a first for New Zealand.[12]

Key dates

[edit]

Key dates for the election are:[13]

  • 19 April: Last day to switch electoral roll.
  • 26 April: Nominations opened for candidates.
  • 24 May: Nominations close.
  • 29 June – 3 July: Voting papers delivered.
  • 29 June: Special voting begins.
  • 20 July: Polling day. Voting documents needed to be at council before voting closes at 12 noon. Preliminary results available as soon as all ordinary votes are counted.
  • 23–25 July: Official results, including all valid ordinary and special votes, declared.

Candidates

[edit]
Candidate Ticket (if any) Notes
Tanya Bamford-King Independent
Aureliu Braguta Independent
Greg Brownless Community Focus - Responsible Spending Mayor 2016–2019[14]
Andrew Caie Independent
Mahé Drysdale Olympic champion rower, grandson of former mayor Bob Owens[15]
Anthony Goddard
Chudleigh Haggett
Ria Hall Musician and television presenter[16]
Donna Hannah
BOP Hori Also stood in 2016[14]
Tim Maltby Our Rates are too High
Jos Nagels Visionary Leadership, Not Repeatership
Douglas Owens Independent Former Bay of Plenty regional councillor.[14] Son of former mayor Bob Owens, uncle of Mahé Drysdale[15]
John Robson[17] Principled; Professional; Democratic Councillor 2013-2016, 2018-2021[14][18]
Tina Salisbury People and Progress over Politics Deputy mayor 2020–2021[19]

Withdrawn

[edit]

Results

[edit]

According to the preliminary results, Mahé Drysdale looks to have been elected as mayor.[24] The official results will be released on 25 July.[25] Voter turnout was 37.88%, which compares with a turnout of 40.28% at the 2019 election.[26][24]

2024 Tauranga mayoral election (preliminary results)[24][27]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Strong Accountable Leadership Mahé Drysdale 24.11% 9915 9926 9950 9980 10053 10161 10247 10374 10594 10851 11676 12476 14003 16178
Community Focus - Responsible Spending Greg Brownless 13.84% 5692 5699 5710 5735 5776 5817 5884 5950 6019 6687 7439 8525 9582 10293
Ria Hall 15.63% 6426 6456 6476 6484 6490 6563 6636 6762 7095 7186 7320 7499 8612
People and Progress over Politics Tina Salisbury 12.06% 4958 4965 4973 4990 5013 5103 5183 5371 5647 5965 6503 7183
Our Rates Are Too High Tim Maltby 7.85% 3230 3238 3246 3289 3380 3467 3627 3698 3790 4440 4988
Independent Douglas Owens 8.32% 3421 3426 3432 3450 3479 3503 3555 3603 3680 4043
Principled; Professional; Democratic John Robson 7.11% 2924 2930 2933 2953 2969 3007 3078 3114 3174
Independent Andrew Caie 2.99% 1228 1234 1240 1246 1298 1379 1449 1592
Independent Tanya Bamford-King 2.12% 873 884 884 889 921 958 995
Real Leadership, Not Repeatership Jos Nagels 1.89% 778 785 788 800 810 828
Anthony Goddard 1.69% 697 702 709 717 756
Aureliu Braguta 1.15% 474 481 482 487
Chudleigh Haggett 0.56% 231 234 240
BOP Hori 0.34% 139[e] 140
Donna Hannah 0.34% 139[e]
Valid: 41125   Spoilt: 125 + 177 blank   Quota: 1st iteration: 20,563; last iteration: 13,236  

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ of eligible voters
  2. ^ Ran on the ticket "Strong Accountable Leadership".
  3. ^ Ran on the ticket "Community Focus - Responsible Spending".
  4. ^ a b of total voter turnout
  5. ^ a b Tie resolved by pseudo–random process

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Elections 2024 > Information for voters". www.tauranga.govt.nz. Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ "'I made a mistake': Tauranga mayor told to apologise for 'outburst'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  3. ^ "SunLive – Mayor to apologise for "bullying comments" – The Bay's News First". Sunlive.co.nz. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell in informal meeting". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Tauranga mayor's profanity-laced flip-flop over quitting". Stuff.co.nz. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. ^ Shand, Matt (20 November 2020). "Tauranga mayor resigns, calls for commissioner to be appointed". Waikato Times. Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Tauranga mayor's shock resignation: Tenby Powell calls for Government to step in". Bay of Plenty Times. The New Zealand Herald. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  8. ^ "SunLive – Commissioners appointment labelled "unlawful" – The Bay's News First". Sunlive.co.nz. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. ^ Motion, Samantha (25 November 2020). "'Draconian': Simon Bridges urges minister not to intervene in council". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  10. ^ Motion, Samantha (25 November 2020). "'Draconian': Simon Bridges urges minister not to intervene in council". Bay of Plenty Times.
  11. ^ "Dates for the Tauranga City Council Election in July 2024 and the Following Election". New Zealand Gazette. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  12. ^ Evans, Alisha (1 February 2024). "Tauranga City Council election: Four-year council term a first for New Zealand". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
  13. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d Gillespie, Kiri; Wilson, Megan (24 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Who's running and what you need to know about voting". NZ Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Sylvester, Catherine (19 May 2024). "Tauranga election: Olympian Mahé Drysdale announces bid for mayor". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
  16. ^ McConnell, Glenn. "Tauranga's star studded return to democracy". www.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  17. ^ Gillespie, Kiri (14 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election: Several sacked councillors running again". New Zealand Herald.
  18. ^ Evans, Alisha (24 May 2024). "Tauranga City Council election hopefuls confirmed". SunLive. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  19. ^ Evans, Alisha (26 April 2024). "Tina Salisbury to run for Tauranga mayoralty". SunLive. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Dr. Eric Chuah Standing For Mayor Of Tauranga". scoop.co.nz. 17 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Eric Chuah". Facebook. 24 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council.
  24. ^ a b c "2024 Council Elections PRELIMINARY RESULT" (PDF). Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  26. ^ Wilson, Megan. "Mount Maunganui's Jen Scoular only woman elected in Tauranga City Council 2024 election". Bay of Plenty Times. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  27. ^ "2024 Council Elections" (PDF). Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2024_Tauranga_mayoral_election&oldid=1236009330"