New mayors in region as voters have their say

Sunday, 12 October 2025

Mike Pettit currently leads the current election votes for Waipa mayor.

Hamilton, Waikato, Waipā, Matamata-Piako, Thames Coromandel, Ōtorohanga and Taupō all have new leaders as rates rises, tough times and retirements change Waikato’s electoral landscape.

As results landed, voters punished both first term and longer serving mayors after difficult times saw most facing double digit rates rises.

Here’s the wrap from election night:

Hamilton

Former Hamilton West MP and current Hamilton city councillor Tim Macindoe has been elected the city’s newest mayor with Sarah Thompson coming in second under the STV ranking system.

Rachel Karalus, Andrew Bydder, Anna Casey-Cox, Leo Liu, Jamie Strange and Sue Moroney are elected to the East Ward.

Thomson was the second-ranked councillor in the west ward in preliminary results released on Sunday, behind Geoff Taylor and ahead of Graeme Mead, Angela O’Leary, Mesh MacDonald and Emma Pike.

Two sitting city councillors have lost their seats: Maxine van Oosten in the east and Louise Hutt in the west.

Special votes are yet to be counted.

Waipā

Cambridge ward councillor Mike Pettit is likely to be the new Waipā mayor, unseating incumbent Susan O’Reagan in Saturday’s local body elections.

The result was among the first and most dramatic to come in as the first progress votes came in.

Mike Pettit celebrates with friends, family and supporters at his election party after taking a solid lead in the Waipā mayoral race.

Waipā Disctrict Council reported Mike Pettit had received 5238 votes ahead of incumbent Susan O’Regan at 4291 votes. O’Regan was elected in 2022, meaning she is likely be a one-term mayor.

The voting turnout sits at 30.5% with about 85% of the votes counted.

Mike Pettit with wife Nic Pettit at their election party.

Pettit said he was in shock when he got the call.

“I was just silent. But it’s sinking in and I’m pretty excited, obviously and am looking forward to getting into it.”

His first priority was gathering his team and wanted to focus on professional development and strategic planning.

“And then we’ll be straight into our mahi basically. We’ve got a long term plan review coming up next year so that’s going to happen quite quickly … There’s plenty of change coming for councils no matter who has got the mayor’s job.”

Pettit will take unpaid leave from his current job as Cambridge Primary principal to get started on council work while allowing him to farewell his students and their families at their upcoming end of year assembly.

Claire St Pierre has retained her council seat, heading the Pirongia and Kakepuku ward race on 1501 votes. Les Bennett (1240) has the second spot, 169 votes ahead of Naomi Pocock (1071).

There will be several more new faces around the council table, but with only a handful of votes between candidates in some seats, the final lineup is too close to call.

In the Cambridge ward, Jo Davies-Colley has claimed the first of the four vacant seats with 2834 votes, with Roger Gordon second on 1991. Behind them, Pip Kempthorne is third on 1437, and Hope Spooner fourth on 1429. Aidhean Camson is in fifth spot and only 12 votes behind Spooner with 1417 votes.

In Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Ward, those set to take the three seats at the council table are Shane Walsh (1621), Dean Taylor (1604) and Marcus Gower (1185). Lou Brown is in fourth spot with 1051.

Aksel Bech has taken the Waikato District mayoralty.

In the Maungatautari Ward, Mike Montogomerie was elected unopposed.

Dale-Maree Morgan appears to have held on to the Waipā Māori Ward with 366 votes, ahead of Yvonne Waho on 301.

In the decision over whether to retain Māori wards, a decisive majority has chosen not to keep them. A total of 6854 people voted to remove the ward, almost 2000 votes more than those who wanted it retained (4888).

This means the district’s Māori ward will not be retained following the 2025-28 council triennium.

Waikato District

Incumbent Gary Petley is in the lead to retain the South Waikato mayoral chains.

Jacqui Church has been swept from the mayoralty by Aksel Bech with an almost 2-1 margin.

Bech claimed 10,268 votes to Church’s 5821, consigning Church to a one term mayoralty.

Councillors elected were: Peter Thomson, David Whyte, Grant Coombes,

Eugene Patterson, Endine Dixon-Harris, Tilly Turner, Mike Keir, Crystal Beavis, Vern Reeve, Fabio Rodrigues, Marlene Raumati, Carolyn Eyre and Lisa Thomson

Voters elected to remove Māori wards, 8553 to 7385.

South Waikato

Meanwhile, South Waikato mayor Gary Petley has a small lead over his nearest contender, with 85% of the vote counted there.

Petley had accrued 1789 votes, ahead of Zed Latinovic with 1676 votes, and Sandra Wallace, with 1597.

Kerry Purdy is re-elected unopposed to theTīrau ward. In the Putaruru Ward, Sandra Wallace, Dave Shaw and Zed Latinovic get seats.

Tokoroa Councillors are Maria Te Kanawa, Ani Lipscombe, Michael Thomas, Elvisa van der Leden, Lee Thomas and Josiah Teokotai.

All Tīrau Community Board members were re-elected unopposed.

Matamata-Piako

Ash Tanner looks set to be re-elected mayor of Matamata-Piako, defeating challengers Adrienne Wilcock and Roman Jackson.

Progress results show Tanner secured 4,260 votes — ahead of Wilcock on 3,481 and Jackson on 434 — giving him a clear lead with about 85 percent of votes counted.

Tanner will return to lead a somewhat refreshed council, with James Thomas, Grace Bonnar, Bruce Dewhurst and Dayne Horne taking the four Morrinsville Ward seats. In Te Aroha, Andrew McGiven, Greg Marshall and Tyrel Glass were elected, while the Matamata Ward will be represented by James Sainsbury, Sue Whiting, Vincent Andersen and Rewiti Vaimoso.

Gary Thompson was elected unopposed to the new Māori ward, Te Toa Horopū ā-Matamata-Piako.

Meanwhile, voters opted to remove the district’s Māori ward, with 4,709 votes in favour of scrapping it and 2,712 wanting it kept.

Voter turnout was 32.9 percent.

Hauraki District

Toby Adams has romped home to retain the Hauraki District mayoralty. With 90% of votes counted he sits on 4220 with Te Aroha - based ex-military man Roman Jackson the closest contender on 562.

Paeroa Ward councillors are: Paul Milner, Rino Lee Ilkinson and Jo Tisley.

Plains ward councillors are Neil Gray, Stephen Crooymans, Ray Broad and Cynthia Bates.

In Waihī are Anne Marie Spicer, Austin Rattray, Amanda Ryan and Sara Howell.

Rereahu Collier and Desmond Tyler were elected unopposed in Te Paskikau o te ika Maori Ward.

Peter Revell is Thames Coromandel mayor.

Ōtorohanga District

Rodney Dow is the new Ōtorohanga District mayor with 1643 over closest rival Cathy Prendergast on 501 with 85% returned.

Dow will take over from one of the region’s longest surviving mayors, Max Baxter, who is stepping down after first taking the mayoral chains in 2013.

Jo Butcher and Kit Jeffries were elected unopposed in the Kawhia-Tihiroa ward, Michael Woodward won Waipā, and Andrew Barker took the kio Kio-Korakonui Ward. Katrina Christison and Tayla Barclay are elected to the Ōtorohanga Ward.

Shane Carr is elected unopposed to the Wharepūhunga Ward.

Tennille Kete and Jaimee Tamaki are elected to the Rangiātea Māori Ward.

Thames-Coromandel

Len Salt has been deposed as Thames-Coromandel mayor.

Peter Revell earned 3211 votes, ahead of Patrick Kerr on 2703. Salt came in third with 2593 votes.

Elected councillors are: Tony Brljevich, John Grant and Flemming Rasmussen in Mercury Bay, John Freer and Alison Smith in South-Eastern, Michael Barlow unopposed in Te Tara O Te Ika Māori Ward, and Greg Hampton, Martin Rodley and Robyn Sinclair in Thames.

Waitomo

Waitomo Mayor John Robertson has comfortably retained his position with 1339 votes, nearly 900 ahead of Janette Osborne.

Elected councillors are: Olivia Buckley, Allan Goddard, Gavin Todd in Waitomo Rural Ward and Eady Manawaiti, Dan Tasker and Isaiah Wallace in Te Kūiti Ward,

Taupō District

Rescue helicopter pilot and businessman John Funnell is the new mayor of Taupō District.

With 85% of results in Funnell has a commanding lead of 4575 over over real estate agent Zane Cozens on 3461.

The voters have ejected incumbent David Trewevas who sits in third on 2400.

Funnell is the former chief executive of Philips Search & Rescue Trust and has previously operated Taupō Tandem Skydiving.

Elected councillors are Marlene Johnson, Kylie Leonard, Christine Rankin, Kevin Taylor, Rachel Shepherd, Yvonne Westerman, Duncan Campbell, Nicola De Lautour and Barry Delany, Wahine Murch, Ngahuia Foreman (nee Asher) and Sandra Greenslade.

Waikato Regional Council

Both Waikato Regional Council’s chair and her deputy have failed to retain their seats in the election.

Chair Pamela Storey came in third behind incumbent Noel Smith and newly elected councillor Gary McGuire in the Waikato constituency, meaning she is off the council.

Her deputy, ecologist Bruce Clarkson also lost his seat.

Clarkson is the only casualty of the Hamilton constituency, being replaced by Ben Dunbar-Smith, with incumbents Angela Strange, Chris Hughes and Jennifer Nickel retaining their seat.

Dunbar had moved from the Waihou constituency, with his empty slot there taken by Keith Holmes.

Clyde Graf also loses his seat in the Waipā-King Country constituency.

Elected there are Stu Kneebone and Garry Reymer. Re-elected are Warren Maher in Thames-Coromandel, Mich’eal Downard in Taupō-Rotorua, Tipa Mahuta in Ngā Hau e Whā and Kataraina Hodge in Ngā Tai Ki Uta.