The 2022 Whangārei mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of the Whangārei District, as part of the 2022 New Zealand local elections. The election took place from 16 September to 8 October and the winner will serve for the 2022–2025 term. Incumbent mayor Sheryl Mai did not seek re-election.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 28,942 (43.26%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Third-term[a] district councillor Vince Cocurullo was elected with 28.18% of the vote.
Background
editWhangārei District Council was formed as part of the 1989 local government reforms as a merger of Whangarei City Council, Whangarei County Council, and Hikurangi Town Council. Whangārei is the main city of the district and wider Northland region. The mayor is elected using a first-past-the-post voting system.[1]
Incumbent mayor Sheryl Mai did not stand for re-election to a fourth term.[2]
All mayoral candidates came out against the Sixth Labour Government's Three Waters reform programme and expressed that they wanted local assets kept in council control. The reform would see council owned assets to the tune of NZ$1.5 billion transferred to a centrally organised body.[3][4]
The amount of debt the council was in was mentioned as a concern by Budd, Flower, and Green, whilst all candidates expressed concern with the level of rates.[4] Green suggested they would put more financial experts on the financial committee and fewer councillors.[4]
All candidates expressed a need to invest in the local economy, to attract more investors and employers to the district. Crime was brought up by Budd, Cocurullo, and Couper as a problem, particularly youth crime. Cocurullo and Couper wanted more funding to the CitySafe programme. Cocurullo said he wanted to invest in a national e-waste solution to be based in the district. Investment in road infrastructure was brought up by several candidates, especially in building up the links between Whangārei and Auckland.[4]
Cost of living, inflation, and poverty were mentioned as concerning by Jacob. Shortland said he would represent a more diverse, younger demographic that isn't traditionally represented in local government.[4]
Candidates
editDeclared
edit- Mike Budd, businessman.[5]
- Vince Cocurullo, third-term[a] district councillor, self-described as centre-right.[6][5]
- Ken Couper, first-term[7] district councillor and farmer.[5]
- Brad Flower, civil engineer.[5]
- Fiona Green
- Nick Jacob, council customer service representative.[5]
- Shaquille Shortland, social entrepreneur.[5]
Results
editVince Cocurullo won the election with 28.18% of the vote. Following the election, Phil Halse (the region's longest serving councillor) was appointed as deputy mayor.[8]
| Affiliation | Candidate | Vote count | % of Turnout | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | Vince Cocurullo | 8,157 | 28.18% | |
| Independent | Mike Budd | 5,814 | 20.08% | |
| None | Ken Couper | 5,037 | 17.40% | |
| Independent | Brad Flower | 4,675 | 16.15% | |
| None | Shaquille Shortland | 2,180 | 7.53% | |
| Independent | Nick Jacob | 1,660 | 5.74% | |
| None | Fiona Green | 1,068 | 3.68% | |
| Eligible: 66,894 | Turnout: 28,942 | Valid: 28,591 | Blanks: 308 | Informals: 43 | ||||
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Botting, Susan (21 October 2023). "Petition calls for poll over how Whangārei elects local government". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Botting, Susan (9 September 2022). "Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai reflects on nine years steering the waka". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Botting, Susan (28 September 2022). "Meet the candidates: Whangārei mayoral hopefuls all oppose Three Waters". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Botting, Susan (20 September 2022). "Northland local body elections: Whangārei mayoral candidates outline their vision". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mayor of Whangārei". Policy.nz. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Cooper, Karina; de Graaf, Peter; Botting, Susan (8 October 2022). "Local body elections 2022: Preliminary results shake up mayoral race in Far North". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Botting, Susan (22 December 2021). "Councillor Ken Couper to stand for Whangārei mayoralty in 2022". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Botting, Susan (21 October 2022). "Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo appoints Phil Halse as second in command". The Northern Advocate - NZHerald. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ "Declaration of results of election for the Whangarei District Council - 2022 elections" (PDF). Whangarei District Council. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2024.