The Mayor of Palmerston North is the head of the municipal government of Palmerston North, New Zealand, and presides over the Palmerston North City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system.[1] Jono Naylor, the current mayor, first elected in 2007,[2] was confirmed in a "landslide" in the 2010 local body elections.[3]
The Borough Council was established on 12 July 1877. At the time, Palmerston North was an isolated village in the midst of a native forest that covered inland Manawatu. The population was approximately 800 people. The first elections on 9 August 1877 returned a council with nine members, including George Matthew Snelson as the first mayor. Snelson is regarded as the founding father of Palmerston North.[4]
On 1 August 1930, Palmerston North is officially gazetted as a city, the 7th settlement in New Zealand to have reached the then threshold of 20,000 inhabitants. With that, the Borough Council becomes a City Council.[5]
Council elections were annually at first, and biennial since 1914.[6]
There have been 28 holders of the position. The longest-serving was Augustus Edward Mansford, who held the post for 16 years. Jill White was the first female mayor in 1998, since followed by Heather Tanguay in 2004.[7][8]
Three mayors have held non-consecutive terms:
Four mayors also served as members of Parliament:[9]
Of those, Nash and Tennent have fulfilled the role of mayor and member of parliament concurrently:
The following persons have served as mayor of Palmerston North:[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Name | Term | |
---|---|---|
1 | George Matthew Snelson | 1877–1879 |
2 | James Linton | 1879–1882 |
3 | Frits Jenssen | 1882–1883 |
George Matthew Snelson, 2nd time | 1883–1884 | |
James Linton, 2nd time | 1884–1885 | |
4 | Alexander Ferguson | 1885–1886 |
5 | Ludolph Georg West | 1886–1887 |
6 | Solomon Abrahams | 1887–1889 |
George Matthew Snelson, 3rd time | 1889–1892 | |
7 | Robert Edwards | 1892–1893 |
8 | William Park | 1893–1895 |
9 | William Thomas Wood | 1895–1899 |
10 | Henry Haydon | 1899–1901 |
George Matthew Snelson, 4th time | 1901 – 31 October 1901 | |
William Thomas Wood, 2nd time | 1901–1903 | |
11 | Charles Dunk | 1903–1904 |
12 | Edward Orr Hurley | 1904–1905 |
13 | Maurice Cohen | 1905–1907 |
14 | Richard Essex | 1907–1908 |
15 | James Alfred Nash | 1908–1923 |
16 | Frederick Joseph Nathan | 1923–1927 |
17 | Archibald James Graham | 1927–1931 |
18 | Augustus Edward Mansford | 1931–1947 |
19 | Geoffrey Tremaine | 1947–1956 |
20 | Blair Tennent | 1956–1959 |
21 | Gilbert Murray Rennie | 1959–1969 |
22 | Desmond Barry Black | 1969–1971 |
23 | Brian Elwood | 1971–1985 |
24 | Paul Rieger | 1985–1998 |
25 | Jill White | 1998–2001 |
26 | Mark Bell-Booth | 2001–2004 |
27 | Heather Tanguay | 2004–2007 |
28 | Jono Naylor | 2007–present |
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