Mayor of Horowhenua


The mayor of Horowhenua officiates over the Horowhenua District Council.
Bernie Wanden has been mayor since 2019. Before being elected as mayor, he had served as a Horowhenua councillor.

List of mayors

Since its inception in 1989, Horowhenua District has had five mayors:
NamePortraitTerm
1Malcolm Guy1989–1995
2Tom Robinson1995–2004
3Brendan Duffy2004–2016
4Michael Feyen2016–2019
5Bernie Wanden2019–present

Deputy mayor

The deputy mayor is appointed by the mayor at the first meeting of the council following the triennial elections. Whilst the deputy mayor exercises the same roles as other elected members, they must also perform the responsibilities and duties of the mayor if the mayor is absent, incapacitated, or the office of the mayor is vacant. The deputy mayor can be removed from office if decided upon by the council.

Controversies

In October 2016, Ross Campbell was appointed as deputy mayor by newly-elected mayor Michael Feyen. However, in December 2016, the remaining nine councillors voted against this decision, with longstanding councillor Wayne Bishop elected to replace Campbell. After this vote, Feyen attempted to reappoint Campbell as deputy mayor, seeking a judicial review to remove Bishop from office and reinstate Campbell. In 2017, it was decided that Campbell had no legal standing and that the council would continue on with business as usual, with Bishop as deputy mayor.

List of deputy mayors

NameTermMayor
Brendan Duffy1998–2001Robinson
Unknown2001–Robinson
David Colling2002–2006Robinson
Duffy
David Colling2002–2006Duffy
Barry Judd–2013Duffy
Garry Good2013–2016Duffy
Ross Campbell2016Feyen
Wayne Bishop2016–2019Feyen
Jo Mason2019–2022Wanden
David Allan2022–presentWanden