Mayor of Whangārei

Mayor of Whangārei
Incumbent
Vince Cocurullo
StyleHis/Her Worship
SeatWhangārei
Term length3 years, renewable
Formation27 October 1896
First holderJames Miller Killen
DeputyPhil Halse
Salary$163,689[1]
WebsiteOfficial website
Map of the Whangārei District within Northland

The Mayor of Whangārei is the directly elected head of the Whangarei District Council, the local government authority for the Whangarei District in New Zealand, which it controls as a territorial authority. The position has existed since 27 October 1896, when the Whangarei Borough Council was constituted.[2] Later the mayor presided over Whangarei City Council. The position has existed in its present form since 1 November 1989, following the amalgamation of Whangarei County Council, Whangarei City Council and Hikurangi Town Board.[3] The mayor is supported by a deputy mayor.[4]

The mayor has significant executive powers, their own staff and the ability to appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees.[5][6]

List of mayors

The following table is a complete list of the mayors of Whangarei since the formation of Whangarei Borough in 1896.[2][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Name Portrait Term of office
1 James Miller Killen 1896–1899
2 William Corns 1899–1901
(1) James Miller Killen 1901–1902
(2) William Corns 1902–1904
(1) James Miller Killen 1904–1905
3 Harry Weaver 1905–1908
4 Thomas McClintock 1908–1910
5 Thomas Herbert Steadman 1910–1914
6 Donald William Jack 1914–1917
7 John Samuel Dent 1917–1921
8 Donald Alexander McLean 1921–1925
9 James Edmund Holmes 1925–1927
10 Leonard James Brake 1927–1929
11 William Jones 1929–1953
12 Horace William James 1953–1954
13 Les McKinnon 1954–1956
14 Frank Johnson 1956–1968
15 Ken Haslett 1968–1977
16 Ted Elliott 1977–1983
17 Joyce Ryan 1983–1989
18 Stan Semenoff 1989–1998
19 Craig Brown 1998–2004
20 Pamela Peters 2004–2007
(18) Stan Semenoff 2007–2010
21 Morris Cutforth 2010–2013
22 Sheryl Mai 2013–2022
22 Vince Cocurullo 2022–present

Deputy mayor

The deputy mayor is the second highest elected official in the Whangarei District Council. The deputy mayor acts in support of the Mayor of Whangarei. It is the second highest elected position in the council. However, like the position of Deputy Prime Minister, this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. They are appointed by the mayor from the elected ward councillors.[6] The current deputy mayor is Greg Innes, who currently represents the Whangarei Heads Ward ward on the Whangarei District Council. Innes was announced as deputy mayor in October 2019, and assumed office upon the swearing in of the new council.[13]

Beyond committees of the whole council, the deputy mayor is an ex-officio member of the following Whangarei District Council committees:[14]

  • Community Development Committee
  • Finance and Corporate Committee
  • Infrastructure Committee
  • Planning and Development Committee

The deputy mayor may be appointed to additional committees that the mayor wishes to appoint them to. The following table lists the deputy mayors since the local government reforms of 1989.

Mayor Deputy mayor Term of office
Stan Semenoff
Craig Brown
Pamela Peters Phil Halse 2004–2007
Stan Semenoff Kahu Sutherland 2007–2010
Morris Cutforth Phil Halse 2010–2013
Sheryl Mai Sharon Morgan[15] 2013–2019
Greg Innes[16] 2019–present

References

  1. ^ Edmunds, Susan (13 June 2024). "How much your local council gets paid". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Fifty years progress". The Sun. Vol. 1, no. 249. 11 January 1928. p. 11. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Local government amalgamation". parliament.nz. New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Councillors". www.wdc.govt.nz. Whangarei District Council.
  5. ^ "Councillors and Mayors". www.localcouncils.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Role of the Mayor". www.wdc.govt.nz. Whangarei District Council. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Mayors' services". Otago Daily Times. No. 27535. 1 November 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Jones, William". New Zealand Card Index. Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  9. ^ "James, Horace William". New Zealand Card Index. Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Johnson, John Frank". New Zealand Card Index. Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  11. ^ Barrington, Mike (24 August 2012). "Piece of city's civic history found". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Whangarei mayors over the last 50 years". Whangarei City 50 years. Northern Advocate. December 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Whangarei Deputy Mayor and Committee Chairs Appointed | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Council Committees". wdc.govt.nz. Whangarei District Council. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Whangarei Mayor cements stable leadership with deputy mayor re-appointment". Scoop Regional. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  16. ^ Ali, Imran (25 October 2019). "Greg Innes named new deputy mayor of Whangārei; committee chairs appointed". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 22 May 2021.