# Mayor of Tauranga

The mayor of Tauranga is the head of local government in Tauranga, New Zealand's fifth-largest city. The mayor presides over the Tauranga City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the single transferable vote method. The current mayor is Mahé Drysdale, elected in the 2024 Tauranga local elections. He assumed office on 2 August.

## History

Tauranga was gazetted as a borough in 1882, and achieved sufficient population to become a city in 1963. The 1989 Local Body reforms saw the city become part of the Tauranga District, before the City of Tauranga was reproclaimed in 2004.
Elections for mayor were held annually from 1882 up to 1915, when terms become two years. In 1935 terms were made three years, the current system. The election used first-past-the-post voting up until the 2016 election, then changed to single transferable vote.
One of Tauranga's longest-serving mayors was Canon Charles Jordan, who was mayor for nine years in total over five separate periods. He is the subject of a commemorative statue, unveiled in Tauranga Domain in 1916, four years after his death.
Tenby Powell was elected to the mayoralty in October 2019 but resigned in November 2020, eight months after he was unanimously censured by his council for an angry outburst. Following further mayoral "outbursts," Powell publicly called for the Minister of Local Government to appoint a commission to replace the "dysfunctional" council. The decision to cancel the election for a new mayor and councillors, and the appointment of a Crown commission instead by minister Nanaia Mahuta on 9 February 2021 was not without controversy. A legal opinion by law firm Russell McVeagh found her decision may have been "unlawful" and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges called the decision "dramatic and draconian", while saying that Powell quitting removed "a significant source of friction" and it was reasonable to assume the council would become more functional with the election of a new Mayor and Councillor.
The council and mayor were restored following elections in 2024. Mahé Drysdale was elected as mayor.

## List of mayors

Tauranga Borough Council (1882–1963) :
| | Mayor | Term |
| 1 | George Vesey Stewart | 1882 |
| 2 | Richard Coles Jordan | 1882–1883 |
| 3 | Thomas Wrigley | 1883–1885 |
| 4 | Charles Jordan | 1885–1886 |
| 5 | David Lundon | 1886–1888 |
| 6 | James Bodell | 1888–1889 |
| 7 | Robert Sharpe Galbraith | 1889–1890 |
| (5) | David Lundon | 1890–1893 |
| 8 | Richard John Gill | 1893 |
| 9 | Charles Angus Clarke | 1893–1898 |
| 10 | Gerard Arnold Ward | 1898–1899 |
| 11 | James Weir Gray | 1899–1900 |
| (4) | Charles Jordan | 1900–1905 |
| 12 | William McKenzie Commons | 1906–1907 |
| (4) | Charles Jordan | 1907–1908 |
| 13 | John Bull | 1908–1909 |
| (4) | Charles Jordan | 1909–1910 |
| (13) | John Bull | 1910–1911 |
| (4) | Charles Jordan | 1911–1912 |
| 14 | Benjamin Robbins | 1912–1915 |
| 15 | Charles Macmillan | 1915–1917 |
| 16 | John Cuthbert Adams | 1917–1919 |
| 17 | Bradshaw Dive | 1919–1929 |
| (14) | Benjamin Robbins | 1929–1933 |
| 18 | Alfred Francis Daly Tunks | 1933–1935 |
| 19 | Lionel Wilkinson | 1935–1950 |
| 20 | Bill Barnard | 1950–1952 |
| (19) | Lionel Wilkinson | 1952–1956 |
| 21 | David Mitchell | 1956–1963 |
Tauranga City Council (1963–1989) :
| | Mayor | Term |
| (21) | David Mitchell | 1963–1968 |
| 22 | Bob Owens | 1968–1977 |
| 23 | Eric Faulkner | 1977–1980 |
| 24 | Raymond Francis Dillon | 1980–1983 |
| 25 | Noel Pope | 1983–1989 |
Tauranga District Council (1989–2003) :
| | Mayor | Term |
| 26 | Keith "Nobby" Clarke | 1989–1995 |
| (25) | Noel Pope | 1995–2001 |
| 27 | Jan Beange | 2001–2003 |
Tauranga City Council (2003–present) :
| | Mayor | Mayor | Term |
| (27) | | Jan Beange | 2003–2004 |
| 28 | | Stuart Crosby | 2004–2016 |
| 29 | | Greg Brownless | 2016–2019 |
| 30 | | Tenby Powell | 2019–2020 |
| – | Replaced by Crown commission | Replaced by Crown commission | 2020–2024 |
| 31 | | Mahé Drysdale | 2024– |