Mayor of Whangārei


The mayor of Whangārei is the elected head of local government in the Whangārei District of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 mayors in the country. The principle town of the district is Whangārei. The mayor presides over the Whangārei District Council and is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method.
The position has existed since 27 October 1896, when the Whangarei Borough Council was constituted. 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. The mayor is supported by a deputy mayor.
WWW wdc.govt.nz/YourCouncil/E...

List of mayors

The following table is a complete list of the mayors of Whangarei since the formation of Whangarei Borough in 1896.
NamePortraitTerm of office
1James Miller Killen1896–1899
2William Corns1899–1901
James Miller Killen1901–1902
William Corns1902–1904
James Miller Killen1904–1905
3Harry Weaver1905–1908
4Thomas McClintock1908–1910
5Thomas Herbert Steadman1910–1914
6Donald William Jack1914–1917
7John Samuel Dent1917–1921
8Donald Alexander McLean1921–1925
9James Edmund Holmes1925–1927
10Leonard James Brake1927–1929
11William Jones1929–1953
12Horace William James1953–1954
13Les McKinnon1954–1956
14Frank Johnson1956–1968
15Ken Haslett1968–1977
16Ted Elliott1977–1983
17Joyce Ryan1983–1989
18Stan Semenoff1989–1998
19Craig Brown1998–2004
20Pamela Peters2004–2007
Stan Semenoff2007–2010
21Morris Cutforth2010–2013
22Sheryl Mai2013–2022
23Vince Cocurullo2022–2025
24Ken Couper2025–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.
Beyond committees of the whole council, the deputy mayor is an ex-officio member of the following Whangarei District Council committees:
  • 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.
MayorDeputy mayorTerm of office
Stan Semenoff
Craig Brown
Pamela PetersPhil Halse2004–2007
Stan SemenoffKahu Sutherland2007–2010
Morris CutforthPhil Halse2010–2013
Sheryl MaiSharon Morgan2013–2019
Sheryl MaiGreg Innes2019–2022
Vince CocurulloPhil Halse2022–2025
Ken CouperScott McKenzie2025–present