Photo: 123rf
The new Tauranga City Council will hold its inaugural meeting this afternoon with a swearing in ceremony where new mayor Mahé Drysdale will choose his deputy.
The council was elected last month after it had been run by government-appointed commissioners since the sacking of the entire council for dysfunction in December 2020.
In April the Local Government Minister Simeon Brown rejected a request from the four commissioners, led by Anne Tolley, for a hybrid of commissioners and councillors in favour of restoring full democracy to the council.
The election means Drysdale, who won the mayoralty by 6000 votes, will take on a four-year term as leader of New Zealand's fifth largest city in his first role in local government politics.
The 10-member council is made up of only two previous councillors including Pāpāmoa ward's Steve Morris who was one of the 2019 councillors who was discharged of his duties by then Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
Mahé Drysdale. Photo: SunLive/Alisha Evans
The other is Rick Curach in the Arataki ward who makes his latest stint on council the seventh time he has been elected.
The rest of the seven ward councillors are new to the council table and include Jen Scoular for Mauao/Mount Maunganui, Glen Crowther for Matua-Ōtūmoetai, Rod Taylor for Te Papa, Kevin Schuler for Bethlehem, Marten Rozeboom for Tauriko, Hautapu Baker for Welcome Bay and Mikaere Sydney for the new Te Awanui Māori ward.
Scoular was the only woman elected to the council.
At today's ceremony Drysdale, who lives in Cambridge, will address the council followed by a chance for the individual councillors to also speak.
Drysdale, who did not return RNZ calls, will also select his deputy mayor and a date will be set for the first council meeting where official business will be on the agenda.
The meeting is being held at the University of Waikato campus in Durham St at 2.30pm and will be livestreamed.