2024 Tauranga mayoral election

2024 Tauranga mayoral election | <- 2019 | 20 July 2024 | 2028 ->

|
|

Turnout| 42,632 (38.77%[c] 1.64 pp)
|  |  |

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Candidate  | Mahé Drysdale | Greg Brownless
Affiliation  | None[a] | None[b]
Vote count | —  | —
• First  | 10,147
23.8%  | 5,785
13.57%
• Final (14th) | 16,606
38.95%
—  | 10,510
24.65%
( 7.70 pp)

* * *

Map of first preference margin of victory by ward

* * *

| Mayor before election

none

| Elected mayor

Mahé Drysdale

|

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 the official results released on 25 July. It was 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]

Mahé Drysdale was elected as mayor.

## 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]

* Eric Chuah[20][21]
* B A (Brian) Friend[22][23]

## Results

[edit]

The official results were released on 25 July,[24] showing Mahé Drysdale was elected as mayor.[25] Voter turnout was 38.77%,[25] which compares with a turnout of 40.28% at the 2019 election.[26]

2024 Tauranga mayoral election[25][27] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

|
|
|

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
| Strong Accountable Leadership  | Mahé Drysdale | 23.98%  | 10147  | 10172  | 10183  | 10213  | 10291  | 10405  | 10492  | 10620  | 10846  | 11106  | 11943  | 12755  | 14324  | 16606
| Community Focus - Responsible Spending  | Greg Brownless  | 13.67%  | 5785  | 5796  | 5803  | 5828  | 5869  | 5910  | 5977  | 6044  | 6118  | 6809  | 7576  | 8681  | 9764  | 10510
|  | Ria Hall  | 16.09%  | 6808  | 6828  | 6858  | 6866  | 6872  | 6947  | 7022  | 7154  | 7496  | 7592  | 7731  | 7917  | 9077
| People and Progress over Politics  | Tina Salisbury  | 12.04%  | 5096  | 5104  | 5115  | 5132  | 5155  | 5247  | 5330  | 5523  | 5810  | 6144  | 6699  | 7388
| Our Rates Are Too High  | Tim Maltby  | 7.77%  | 3287  | 3294  | 3303  | 3348  | 3439  | 3528  | 3689  | 3760  | 3854  | 4525  | 5087
| Independent | Douglas Owens  | 8.29%  | 3508  | 3514  | 3519  | 3537  | 3566  | 3591  | 3643  | 3692  | 3775  | 4145
| Principled; Professional; Democratic  | John Robson  | 7.12%  | 3012  | 3015  | 3021  | 3042  | 3058  | 3096  | 3168  | 3208  | 3271
| Independent | Andrew Caie  | 3.01%  | 1273  | 1278  | 1287  | 1293  | 1345  | 1427  | 1498  | 1646
| Independent | Tanya Bamford-King  | 2.12%  | 898  | 898  | 909  | 914  | 946  | 985  | 1024
| Real Leadership, Not Repeatership  | Jos Nagels  | 1.86%  | 789  | 792  | 799  | 811  | 821  | 839
|  | Anthony Goddard  | 1.69%  | 717  | 723  | 729  | 738  | 777
|  | Aureliu Braguta  | 1.13%  | 480  | 481  | 488  | 493
|  | Chudleigh Haggett  | 0.55%  | 237  | 242  | 246
|  | Donna Hannah  | 0.34%  | 145  | 152
|  | BOP Hori  | 0.33%  | 141
Valid: 42323  Spoilt: 129 + 180 blank  Quota: 1st iteration: 21,162; last iteration: 13,558

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Ran on the ticket "Strong Accountable Leadership".
2. ^ Ran on the ticket "Community Focus - Responsible Spending".
3. ^ of eligible voters

## 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. ^ "Elections 2024". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
25. ^ a b c "2024 Council Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 25 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 25 July 2022.

*[FPv%]: First preference votes percentage