Central Otago mayor Tim Cadogan's surprise resignation
Tuesday, 1 October 2024
Tim Cadogan may have been Central Otago’s most well-known mayor. Now he is resigning before the end of his third term.
Cadogan revealed the news via a Facebook Live broadcast on Monday night, saying many people would be surprised.
He planned to officially resign at Labour weekend to ensure it did not trigger an expensive by-election.
Councillors would elect a replacement mayor to serve until the 2025 election and he had “absolute faith” in the leadership of the current councillors, he said.
It had been an honour and a pleasure to spend eight years in the role, he said
“Alongside being a father of a blended family and a husband, being the mayor of this district has been the greatest privilege of my life.”
He was planning to move to Wellington with wife Linda and start as the local government engagement specialist at the water services authority Taumata Arowai.
“I am looking forward to a new challenge, although leaving this magnificent place for a while is really going to hurt,” he said.
He chose to step aside before the next long-term plan was concluded in early 2025, to ensure someone seeking re-election would be able to follow the plan through.
“I truly believe that now is the best time for both the organisation and from there the community and myself for this change to occur.” he said.
Cadogan was first elected as mayor in 2016, having worked as a criminal lawyer, and in radio in Central Otago.
He was re-elected twice, the last time unopposed, and he often found himself in the national spotlight.
He led the community through the Covid-19 pandemic, had been chair of the Otago Mayoral Forum for five years, sat on two ministerial working groups and is currently the southern zone representative on Local Government New Zealand’s national council.
He recently led the districtisation consultation, which last week saw most decisions related to spending removed from the community boards.
That policy had been unpopular in some centres in the district and Cadogan conceded in the speech that there was “a very big question whether I’d get re-elected next year anyway”.
He has been outspoken on many topics, including in his opposition to the proposed Three Waters Reform Bill and his own health when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021.
Proudly “woke”, Cadogan stood against his council as a lone voice supporting a Māori name correction in the district in May.
He has often be interviewed alongside his brother Bryan Cadogan who is mayor of the neighbouring Clutha District, where the pair grew up.
Cadogan has a long history of appearances with local theatre groups and dressed as Super Turd to celebrate the first stage of the Clyde wastewater reticulation project going live in 2022.
He has been a regular and forthright columnist in the Southland Times and other local news outlets during his mayoralty.