| |||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 19,619 (41.53%) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The 2022 Far North mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of the Far North 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 John Carter did not seek re-election. First term district councillor Moko Tepania won the election, becoming the district's youngest and first Māori mayor.
The Far North District Council was formed as part of the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms, and since then there had been five mayors. The mayor of the district is directly elected by the eligible voting population of the district. This election would be the first to use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method as opposed to the previously used first-past-the-post system. [1] The STV system allows voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference. The votes are counted and then the candidate with the lowest first place votes is eliminated and votes for them are transferred based on second preferences. This continues until one candidate has a majority.
Incumbent two-term mayor John Carter decided not to run for re-election. The at-the-time 72 year old retired from a long career in government at both the local and central level. [2]
According to the candidates, issues important to the election included local rates, Three Waters, changes to the Resource Management Act, the economy, council debt, housing, and road infrastructure. [3]
Ann Court was ahead when the provisional results were released but after special votes were counted Moko Tepania secured the win. Tepania would be the youngest and first Māori mayor in the Far North and following the election would chair a majority Māori council, a first for the district. [6] Kelly Stratford, also Māori, was appointed deputy mayor. [7] [8]
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes by iteration | % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | of 8th | of Turnout | of Eligible | |||
| None | Moko Tepania | 7805 | 51.46 | 39.78 | 16.52 | ||||||||
| None | Ann Court | 7362 | 48.54 | 37.52 | 15.58 | ||||||||
| None | John Vujcich | 4166 | |||||||||||
| SOVEREIGN.nz | Joshua Riley | 2927 | |||||||||||
| None | Jaqi Brown | 1865 | |||||||||||
| Independent | Kelly Stratford | 1616 | |||||||||||
| Independent | Kevin Middleton | 296 | |||||||||||
| None | Clinton Dearlove | 276 | |||||||||||
| Independent | Rachel Witana | 122 | |||||||||||
| Eligible: 47,240 | Turnout: 19,619 | Valid: 19,344 | Blanks: 173 | Informals: 102 | |||||||||||||
John McGregor Carter is a New Zealand politician, and member of the National Party. He represented the Bay of Islands, Far North and Northland electorates in Parliament from 1987 until July 2011, when he became New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands. Since the October 2013 local elections, he served as mayor of the Far North District for 9 years until his retirement from politics in 2022.
Dover Spencer Peneha Samuels is a former Labour Member of Parliament in New Zealand from 1996 to 2008.
The Far North District is the northernmost territorial authority district of New Zealand, consisting of the northern part of the Northland Peninsula in the North Island. It stretches from North Cape / Otou and Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua in the north, down to the Bay of Islands, the Hokianga and the town of Kaikohe.
The Rangitikei District is a territorial authority district located primarily in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in the North Island of New Zealand, although a small part, the town of Ngamahanga, lies in the Hawke's Bay Region. It is located in the southwest of the island, and follows the catchment area of the Rangitīkei River.
Mayors in New Zealand are the directly elected leaders of New Zealand's territorial authorities. They chair local council meetings and have limited executive powers, including the ability to appoint a deputy mayor, establish committees, and select chairpersons for said committees. Their constitutional role, as laid out in the Local Government Act 2002, is to provide leadership to their councillors and citizens of their districts, and to guide the direction of council plans and policies. Mayors are elected using either the first-past-the-post or single transferable vote system.
Meng Liu Foon is a New Zealand politician who served as the mayor of Gisborne from 2001 to 2019. He served as New Zealand's race relations commissioner from August 2019 to June 2023, resigning after failing to declare payments of $2 million he took for emergency housing while director of an investment company. He is one of a handful of people of Chinese descent to have become a mayor in New Zealand. He is fluent in English, Cantonese and Māori. At the time of his departure from the mayoral position he was the only mayor in New Zealand who was fluent in Māori.
Far North District Council is the territorial authority for the Far North District of New Zealand.
David James Clendon is a New Zealand former politician. He was a list Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 until 2017. He later served one term on the Far North District Council from 2019 to 2022.
The Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery is an art and cultural centre in Whangārei, New Zealand. It is the conception of artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who lived near Kawakawa for 30 years, and was first designed in 1993. The project proved controversial and was considered and rejected a number of times until it was approved by a binding referendum in June 2015. The centre opened on 20 February 2022 with the inaugural exhibition, Puhi Ariki, curated by Nigel Borell.
Willow-Jean Prime is a New Zealand politician. She was first elected a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives at the 2017 general election as a list representative of the New Zealand Labour Party. She was elected as the Member of Parliament for Northland at the 2020 general election and was re-elected as a list MP in 2023.
The mayor of Far North is the head of local government in the Far North District of New Zealand's North Island. The mayor presides over the meetings of the Far North District Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method. The current mayor is Moko Tepania, first elected in October 2022 during that year's local elections.
The mayor of Kaipara is the head of local government in the Kaipara District of New Zealand's North Island. The mayor presides over the meetings of the Kaipara District Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method. The current mayor is Craig Jepson, first elected in October 2022 during that year's local elections.
Donna Marie Pokere-Phillips is a New Zealand politician known for her conspiracy-driven views. She is the co-leader of the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party.
Māori wards and constituencies refer to wards and constituencies on urban, district, and regional councils in New Zealand that represent local constituents registered on the Māori parliamentary electoral roll vote. Like Māori electorates within the New Zealand Parliament, the purpose of Māori wards and constituencies is to ensure that Māori are represented in local government decision making.
The 2022 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections held in New Zealand on Saturday 8 October 2022. Voting began by postal vote on 16 September and ended at noon on 8 October 2022.
The 2022 Wellington Region local elections were held on 8 October 2022 as part of the wider 2022 New Zealand local elections to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. These elections covered one regional council, eight territorial authorities, and various community boards and licensing trusts.
Craig Eldon Jepson is a New Zealand local politician who is the mayor of Kaipara District in New Zealand's Northland Region. During the 2000s, Jepson served as a spokesperson for Olivine NZ's unsuccessful attempt to convert the former coal-powered Meremere Power Station in the north Waikato, New Zealand into a waste-to-energy station. Jepson later moved to Mangawhai where he established a concrete business that was involved in local rural and urban development. In October 2022, Jepson was elected mayor of Kaipara. As mayor, Jepson attracted media coverage following his attempt to ban karakia from council proceedings, which he subsequently reversed following significant criticism from the public and fellow councillors.
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.
The Local Government Amendment Act 2024 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament which reinstates the poll requirements for Māori wards and constituencies. It requires local and regional councils that have established Māori wards and constituencies since 2020 without holding a referendum to hold one at the 2025 New Zealand local elections. The bill was one of the key commitments of the Sixth National Government that was formed following the 2023 New Zealand general election. It passed its third reading and became law on 30 July 2024.
The 2025 New Zealand local elections will be held on 11 October 2025. Local government in New Zealand has triennial elections to elect city and district mayors and councillors, regional councillors, and members of local boards. Most city and district councils will also hold a local referendum on Māori wards. Tauranga City Council will not hold elections as they had mid-term elections during 2024.
| General elections |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections | |||||
| Referendums |
| ||||
