Paula Southgate | |
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36th Mayor of Hamilton | |
Assumed office 24 October 2019 | |
Deputy | Angela O'Leary |
Preceded by | Andrew King |
Personal details | |
Born | Paula Anne Southgate 1963or1964(age 60–61) [1] |
Spouse | Greg Forsyth |
Children | 3 |
Occupation |
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Website | https://www.paulasouthgate.co.nz/ |
Paula Anne Southgate [2] is a New Zealand politician. She has held several positions in local government since 2001. In October 2019 she was elected the Mayor of Hamilton [3] and was re-elected in October 2022. [4]
Southgate was born in 1963 or 1964 [1] to Margaret Southgate [5] and attended Hamilton Girls' High School and the University of Waikato. [6] She worked as a teacher, a counsellor in the mental health sector, and served on two school boards of trustees. [7]
Southgate served as a councillor on the Waikato Regional Council from 2001 to 2016. [6] In 2013 she was elected to be the council chair over Bob Simcock, with the support of eight out of fourteen councillors. [8]
Southgate ran to be mayor of Hamilton and a Hamilton City Councillor in the 2016 local elections but lost to Andrew King. The election was close, with an election-day margin of nine votes reduced to six votes after a judicial recount. However, she was elected as a city councillor from the East ward. [9]
In the 2019 local elections, although Southgate did not run for a councillor position, she did win the mayoralty with 33.74% of the vote and a majority of 3,137 votes over King, who had proposed renaming Hamilton to Kirikiriroa in spite of public opinion. [10] Geoff Taylor was appointed as her deputy mayor. [11]
Southgate sought and won a second mayoral term in the 2022 Hamilton mayoral election. [12] [13]
On 12 January 2025, Southgate confirmed that she would not be running for a third mayoral term during the 2025 New Zealand local elections. [14]
Southgate is married to Greg Forsyth and has two daughters and a stepson. [6]