Mahé Drysdale has won the Tauranga mayoralty by about 6,100 votes, according to final election results released tonight. The same nine councillors named in Sunday’s preliminary results have also been confirmed, Tauranga City Council announced. The final voter turnout was 38.7%, slightly lower than 2019’s 40.3% but a bit higher than 2016’s 38.1%.
Drysdale, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist rower, received 16,606 votes in the single-transferable vote system. He was followed by former Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless with 10,510 votes, singer Ria Hall with 9,077, and former deputy mayor Tina Salisbury with 7,388.
The new council, consisting of nine men and one woman, will be sworn in on August 2 and will serve a four-year term, a first for New Zealand. The newly elected ward councillors are:
Mauao/Mount Maunganui: Jen Scoular
Matua-Otūmoetai: Glen Crowther
Te Papa: Rod Taylor
Bethlehem: Kevin Schuler
Tauriko: Marten Rozeboom
Welcome Bay: Hautapu Baker
Arataki: Rick Curach
Pāpāmoa: Steve Morris
Te Awanui: Mikaere Sydney
This election marks Tauranga City Council’s first since 2019 and the first to include a Māori ward, Te Awanui.
