Mayor of Marlborough, New Zealand

Last updated

The Mayor of Marlborough officiates over the Marlborough District of New Zealand, which is administered by the Marlborough District Council, with Blenheim as its main town. The role was created as a result of the 1989 local government reforms, when Blenheim Borough was amalgamated with Picton Borough, and Marlborough County to form Marlborough District.

Contents

The current mayor, Nadine Taylor, was first elected to the position in 2022. [1]

Taylor is the 7th person to hold this role. All former mayors are living.

History

Marlborough District was formed through the 1989 local government reform, when many counties and boroughs were amalgamated throughout New Zealand. Marlborough District's predecessors were Blenheim Borough, Picton Borough, and Marlborough County Council. Formed in 1869, Blenheim Borough had 31 mayors. [2] Picton Borough goes back to 1876 and had 23 mayors. [3] Marlborough County goes back to 1923 and had 11 council chairmen. [2]

The last Mayor of Blenheim, Leo McKendry, was the first Mayor of Marlborough, serving two terms (1989–1995). [2] Liz Davidson was the first woman mayor and served in that role from 1995 to 1998. Between 1983 and her retirement in 2010, she served a total of 27 years on local bodies. [4]

Davidson was succeeded in her mayoralty by Gerald Hope, who served for one term (1998–2001). [2] Hope became well-known nationally in early 1998 for the disappearance of his daughter and her friend, a murder for which Scott Watson was convicted. [5] [6] Hope was successfully challenged by councillor Tom Harrison in 2001, who served one term until 2004. [2] Hope was elected as a district councillor in 2004. [7]

Alistair Sowman served one term on the district council from 2001 before being first elected mayor in 2004. [8] He announced in November 2012 that he would contest the mayoralty again in October 2013. [9]

Harrison, Hope, and Davidson all served as district councillors after having been mayors, and all three failed to get re-elected in the 2010 local election, after former mayor McKendry stated early in the election campaign that past mayors should not stand again as councillors. [10]

All former mayors are living. [10]

List of mayors of Marlborough

The following list shows the mayors of Marlborough:

NameTerm
1 Leo McKendry 1989–1995
2Liz Davidson1995–1998
3 Gerald Hope 1998–2001
4Tom Harrison2001–2004
5Alistair Sowman2004–2016
6John Leggett2016–2022
7Nadine Taylor2022–present

Notes

  1. "Marlborough Councillors". marlborough.govt.nz. Marlborough District Council.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brooks 2011, p. 494.
  3. Brooks 2011, p. 493.
  4. Bell, Cathie (4 September 2012). "Pocket park 'a fitting tribute' to region's first woman mayor". The Marlborough Express . Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. Bingham, Eugene (13 September 1999). "Bright lights, young love and fate's hand". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  6. Milne, Rebecca (15 March 2009). "Pardon plea from Watson". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  7. Connell, Claire (9 August 2010). "Four more in council race". The Marlborough Express. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  8. "Alistair Sowman". The Marlborough Express. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  9. Pickford, Kat (2 November 2012). "Mayor puts hand up for fourth term". The Marlborough Express. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  10. 1 2 Connell, Claire (12 October 2010). "Rates, sewerage, car park factors". The Marlborough Express. Retrieved 1 March 2013.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlborough District</span> District and unitary authority of New Zealand

Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region, commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a district and a region. Marlborough District Council is based at Blenheim, the largest town. The unitary region has a population of 51,500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picton, New Zealand</span> Town in Marlborough, New Zealand

Picton is a town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located near the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, 25 km (16 mi) north of Blenheim and 65 km (40 mi) west of Wellington. Waikawa lies just north-east of Picton and is considered to be a contiguous part of the Picton urban area.

The Mayor of Whanganui is the head of the Whanganui District Council. Since 1872, there have been 29 mayors. Andrew Tripe is the current mayor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Parker (mayor)</span> 45th Mayor of Christchurch

Sir Robert John Parker is a former New Zealand broadcaster and politician. He served as Mayor of Christchurch from 2007 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Seymour (politician)</span>

Arthur Penrose Seymour was a 19th-century New Zealand politician from Picton. He was the 4th Superintendent of the Marlborough Province and was a member of the provincial government for all 16 years of its existence. With his strong advocacy for Picton, he successfully had the Seat of Government moved to Picton. When the Blenheim party secured a majority in the Provincial Council by 1865, Seymour negotiated the removal of the Seat of Government back to Blenheim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard McCallum (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Richard McCallum was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and later a member of the Legislative Council. A barrister from Blenheim, he held many local positions, including two years as Mayor of Blenheim. One of his main interests was the advancement of education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand</span> Wikimedia list article

The mayor of Nelson is the head of the municipal government of Nelson, New Zealand, and presides over the Nelson City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor is Nick Smith, who was elected in September 2022.

Paul Kenneth Matheson is a New Zealand politician. He was mayor of Nelson from 1998 to 2007, and was subsequently a Nelson city councillor from 2010 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Upper Hutt</span>

The Mayor of Upper Hutt is the head of the municipal government of Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and presides over the Upper Hutt City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The Upper Hutt Town Board had seven chairmen, with the role regarded as the predecessor role of mayor. The Upper Hutt Borough Council was proclaimed in 1926, and with that the role of mayor was introduced. In 1966, Upper Hutt became a city council. The current mayor, Wayne Guppy, is the eleventh since the role was created in 1926, and he was first elected in 2001.

The Mayor of Manawatu officiates over the Manawatu District of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Blenheim</span>

The Mayor of Blenheim officiated over the borough of Blenheim, New Zealand. The office was created in 1869 when Blenheim became a borough, and ceased with the 1989 local government reforms, when Blenheim Borough was amalgamated with Picton Borough and Marlborough County Council to form Marlborough District. There were 31 Mayors of Blenheim. The last Mayor of Blenheim, Leo McKendry, was elected as the first Mayor of Marlborough.

Leo Francis McKendry is a former local politician in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand. He was the 31st and last Mayor of Blenheim (1986–1989), and the 1st Mayor of Marlborough (1989–1995).

Marlborough District Council is the unitary local authority for the Marlborough District of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 New Zealand local elections</span> Local elections in New Zealand

The 2016 New Zealand local elections were triennial local elections to select local government officials and District Health Board members. Under section 10 of the Local Electoral Act 2001, a "general election of members of every local authority or community board must be held on the second Saturday in October in every third year" from the date the Act came into effect in 2001, meaning 8 October 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Buller</span>

The Mayor of Buller is the head of the municipal government of Buller District, New Zealand. The mayor is directly elected using the first-past-the-post electoral system.

The Mayor of Grey, often referred to as the Mayor of Greymouth, officiates over the Grey District of New Zealand which is administered by the Grey District Council with its seat in Greymouth. The current Mayor is Tania Gibson. Two predecessors to this office were the Mayor of Greymouth, officiating over the Greymouth Borough Council from 1868, and from 1877 the chairman of the Grey County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1875 Wairau by-election</span> New Zealand by-election

The 21 June 1875 Wairau by-election was a by-election held in the Wairau electorate in the Marlborough Province during the 5th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Arthur Seymour and was won by Joseph Ward, who defeated William Sefton Moorhouse. Ward was a well-known politician in Marlborough. Moorhouse had political seniority over Ward and was at the time Mayor of Wellington, but had no personal connection to Marlborough.

The Mayor of Tawa officiated over the Tawa Flat Borough of New Zealand, which was administered by the Tawa Borough Council. The office existed from 1953 until 1989, when Tawa Borough was amalgamated into the Wellington City Council as part of the 1989 local government reforms. There were six holders of the office.

Marlborough County was one of the counties of New Zealand on the South Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Richmond, New Zealand</span>

The mayor of Richmond was the head of the municipal government of Richmond, New Zealand. The position existed from 1891, when the Borough of Richmond was formed, until the borough was amalgamated into Tasman District in the 1989 local government reforms.

References