# 2024 Tauranga local elections

The 2024 Tauranga local elections were held via postal voting from 29 June 2024 to 20 July 2024. Elections in Tauranga covered one territorial authority, the Tauranga City Council.
These were the first elections for the Tauranga City Council since 2019, following the appointment by the Minister of Local Government of a Crown Commission to oversee Tauranga City Council's governance responsibilities on 9 February 2021.
The Tauranga City Council used the single transferable voting system to elect the Mayor of Tauranga and city councillors for a term that will last until the 2028 local elections.
Tauranga City Council created nine electoral wards for these elections. There were eight general wards (Mauao/Mount Maunganui, Arataki, Pāpāmoa, Welcome Bay, Matua-Otūmoetai, Bethlehem, Tauriko and Te Papa) and one Māori ward (Te Awanui, covering the entire city) which each returned one councillor.

## Candidates

Nominations for candidates opened on 26 April 2024 and closed on 24 May 2024. The following 86 candidates have been confirmed to be running for the positions of mayor and the nine city councillors:

### Mayor

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Tanya Bamford-King | Independent | |
| Aureliu Braguta | Independent | |
| Greg Brownless | Community Focus - Responsible Spending | Mayor 2016–2019 |
| Andrew Caie | Independent | |
| Mahé Drysdale | | Olympic champion rower, grandson of former mayor Bob Owens |
| Anthony Goddard | | |
| Chudleigh Haggett | | |
| Ria Hall | | Musician and television presenter |
| Donna Hannah | | |
| BOP Hori | | Also stood in 2016 |
| Tim Maltby | Our Rates are too High | |
| Jos Nagels | Visionary Leadership, Not Repeatership | |
| Douglas Owens | Independent | Former Bay of Plenty regional councillor. Son of former mayor Bob Owens, uncle of Mahé Drysdale |
| John Robson | Principled; Professional; Democratic | Councillor 2013-2016, 2018-2021 |
| Tina Salisbury | People and Progress over Politics | Deputy mayor 2020–2021 |

### Councillors
#### Te Awanui Māori ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) |
| Suaree Borell | Learning, Leading and Leveraging |
| Ashley Hillis | |
| Mikaere Sydney | Tauranga Moana Kōkiritia |

#### Arataki general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) |
| Sarah-Jane Bourne | |
| Rick Curach | Pick Rick community needs over wants |
| Anthony Goddard | |
| Teresa Killian | |
| Adrienne Pierce | |
| Kim Renshaw | Voice for Arataki |
| Jeroen Van der Beek | A local for Arataki Ward |
| Andrea Webster | Independent |
| Harris Williams | |
| Mike Williams | Common sense on Council |

#### Bethlehem general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) |
| Charlene Apaapa | |
| Shelley Archibald | |
| Felicity Auva'a | Forward with Experience Energy Action |
| Darren Gilchrist | |
| Gerry Hodgson | |
| Jos Nagels | Visionary Leadership, Not Repeatership |
| Bevan Rakoia | |
| John Robson | Principled; Professional; Democratic |
| Kevin (Herb) Schuler | Constructive and Positive Leadership |

#### Matua-Otūmoetai general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Tanya Bamford-King | Independent | |
| Ronald Chamberlain | | |
| Glen Crowther | Accountability, Transparency, Community | |
| Suzie Edmonds | Independent | |
| Cam Holden | Independent | |
| Jim McKinlay | | |
| Ken Patterson | | |
| Basie Pikimaui | Tauranga Moana Kōkiritia | |
| Tenby Powell | Our City. Our Future. Together | Mayor 2019–2020 |
| Kim Pritchard | Independent | |
| Mike Rayner | For keeping our current facilities | |
| Zach Reeder | | |
| David Tank | | |
| David Webb | Tomorrow's thriving Tauranga, together | |

#### Mauao/Mount Maunganui general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Heidi Hughes | Community, environment, future | Councillor 2019–2020 |
| Garth Mathieson | | |
| Teresa Nichols | Independent | |
| Michael O'Neill | Independent | |
| Jacqueline Pointon | | |
| Jen Scoular | Commercial acumen, community heart | |
| Peter Douglas Stanley | | |

#### Pāpāmoa general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Bryan Archer | | |
| John Bowden | | |
| Phillip Coleman | | |
| Ria Hall | | |
| Tim Maltby | Our Rates are too High | |
| Steve Morris | Championing Pāpāmoa on Council | Former councillor |
| Maaka Nelson | | |
| Craig Purcell | Pāpāmoa Pāpāmoa Proud | |
| Shelley Robb | Independent | |

#### Tauriko general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) | Notes |
| Larry Baldock | Let's Keep Moving Forward | Former deputy mayor |
| Murray Guy | Democracy for Tauranga | |
| Marten Rozeboom | | |
| Stephen Wheeler | | |

#### Te Papa general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) |
| Andrew Caie | Independent |
| Mark Decke | |
| Chudleigh Haggett | |
| Reihana Marx | |
| Terry Molloy | |
| Jim Smith | Loyal and Local |
| Rod Taylor | Tauranga True |
| Barbara Turley | |
| Abraham (Bram) van Berkel | |

#### Welcome Bay general ward

| Candidate | Ticket (if any) |
| Hautapu Baker | Healthy Environment Thriving Community |
| Aureliu Braguta | |
| Ethan Brinkman | Ethan for Reason |
| Robert Coe | Independent |
| Donna Hannah | |
| Cameron Templer | Action over Words |

### Candidate events

| Date | Time | Location | Organiser | Ward | Participants | Participants | Video | Notes |
| Date | Time | Location | Organiser | Ward | Attended | Absent | Video | Notes |
| 15 June | 19:00–21:00 | Bethlehem Hall | It's in the Ballot | Bethlehem general | Charlene Apaapa Shelley Archibald Darren Gilchrist Gerry Hodgson Jos Nagels Bevan Rakoia John Robson Kevin (Herb) Schuler | Felicity Auva'a | Link | |
| 16 June | 13:00–15:00 | Papamoa Community Centre | It's in the Ballot | Arataki general | Sarah-Jane Bourne Rick Curach Anthony Goddard Teresa Killian Adrienne Pierce Kin Renshaw Jeroen Van der Beek Andrea Webster Harris Williams | Mike Williams | Link | |
| 16 June | 16:00–17:40 | Papamoa Community Centre | It's in the Ballot | Mauao/Mount Maunganui geneal | Heidi Hughes Garther Mathieson Michael O'Neill Jen Scoular | Teresa Nicholls Jacqueline Pointon Peter Douglas Stanley | Link | |
| 16 June | 19:00–21:00 | Papamoa Community Centre | It's in the Ballot | Pāpāmoa general | Bryan Archer John Bowden Ria Hall Tim Maltby Shelley Robb | Phillip Coleman Steve Morris Maaka Nelson Craig Purcell | Link | |
| 17 June | 16:00–18:00 | Welcome Bay Community Centre | It's in the Ballot | Tauriko general | Larry Baldock Murray Guy Marten Rozeboom Stephen Wheeler | | Link | |
| 17 June | 19:00–21:00 | Welcome Bay Community Centre | It's in the Ballot | Welcome Bay general | Hautapu Baker Aureliu Braguta Ethan Brinkman Robert Coe Donna Hannah Cameron Templer | | Link | |
| 18 June | 19:00–21:00 | Tauranga Bridge Club | It's in the Ballot | Matua-Otūmoetai general | Tanya Bamford-King Glen Growther Suzie Edmonds Cam Holden Basie Pikimaui Tenby Powell Kim Pritchard Mike Rayner Zach Reeder David Tank David Webb | Ronald Chamberlain Jim McKinlay Kim Patterson | Link | |
| 20 June | 19:00–21:00 | Te Wharekura o Mauao | It's in the Ballot | Te Awanui Māori | Suaree Borell Ashley Hillis Mikaere Sydney | | Link | |
| 21 June | 16:00–18:00 | Elizabeth Street Community and Arts Center | It's in the Ballot | Te Papa general | Andrew Caie Chudleigh Haggett Terry Molloy Jim Smith Rod Taylor Barbara Turley Abraham (Bram) va Berkel | Mark Decke Reihana Marx | Link | |
| 21 June | 19:00–22:00 | Elizabeth Street Community and Arts Center | It's in the Ballot | Mayoralty | Tanya Bamford-King Aureliu Braguta Greg Brownless Andrew Caie Mahé Drysdale Chudleigh Haggett Ria Hall Donna Hannah Tim Maltby Jos Nagels Douglas Owens John Robson Tina Salisbury | Anthony Goddard BOP Hori | Link | |
| 26 June | 17:00–19:00 | University of Waikato – Tauranga campus | Tauranga Business Chamber | Mayoralty | Gerry Brownless Mahe Drysdale Ria Hall Tina Salisbury | | | |

## Results

The official results of the election were released on 25 July. Voter turnout was 38.77%, which compares with a turnout of 40.28% at the 2019 election.
Only one woman, Jen Scoular for the Mauao/Mount Maunganui ward, was elected to the council. Two former councillors, Steve Morris and Rick Curach, were re-elected.
Mikaere Sydney was elected as councillor for Tauranga's first Māori ward Te Awanui, which the Tauranga commission had confirmed at a meeting in April 2021 following the passage of the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021. Te Awanui is at risk of dissolution due to the National-led coalition government requiring local councils to hold binding referenda on Māori wards.
Results of the 2024 Tauranga City Council elections :
| Winning candidate | Position | Ward |
| Mahé Drysdale | Mayor | At-large |
| Jen Scoular | Councillor | Mauao/Mount Maunganui |
| Glen Crowther | Councillor | Matua-Otūmoetai |
| Rod Taylor | Councillor | Te Papa |
| Kevin "Herb" Schuler | Councillor | Bethlehem |
| Marten Rozeboom | Councillor | Tauriko |
| Hautapu Baker | Councillor | Welcome Bay |
| Rick Curach | Councillor | Arataki |
| Steve Morris | Councillor | Pāpāmoa |
| Mikaere Sydney | Councillor | Te Awanui |