2025 Hamilton City Council election

2025 Hamilton City Council election
11 October 2025
Turnout38,063
Mayoral election
 
Candidate Tim Macindoe Sarah Thomson
Affiliation Independent Independent
Primary vote 16,895 9,240
Percentage 44.39% 24.28%
Final vote 18,275 10,183
Percentage 50.30% 28.03%
 
Candidate Maria Huata Rachel Karalus
Affiliation Independent Independent
Primary vote 3,718 3,049
Percentage 9.77% 8.01%
Final vote 4,329 3,546
Percentage 11.91% 9.76%
Mayor before election

Paula Southgate
Independent

Elected mayor

Tim Macindoe
Independent

Council election
14 seats on the Hamilton City Council
8 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/–
Independent

10 −2
Better Hamilton

4 +4
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2025 Hamilton City Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Hamilton, New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.

Voters elected the mayor of Hamilton and 14 city councillors for the 2025–2028 term of the Hamilton City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system were used.

A finalised list of candidate names was released by the City Council on 4 August identifying 52 candidates, including 12 candidates for mayor.[1][2] Incumbent mayor Paula Southgate did not run for re-election.

Councillor Tim Macindoe won the mayoralty, with fellow councillor Sarah Thomson coming in second place.

The council introduced a Māori ward at the 2022 election; in a referendum on its future held at this election (as part of a nation-wide series of referendums) voters elected to keep the Māori ward.

Key dates

  • 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates opened
  • 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates closed at 12 pm
  • 9 September 2025: Voting documents were posted and voting opened
  • 11 October 2025: Voting closed at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results were published
  • 16–19 October 2025: Final results were declared.[3][4]

Background

Positions up for election

Voters in the city elected the mayor of Hamilton and 14 councillors from 3 wards. They also elected several members of the Waikato Regional Council.[a][5]

Campaign

Better Hamilton was a group of candidates who jointly campaigned during the election campaign.[6]

List of candidates

Incumbents not seeking re-election

  • Paula Southgate, mayor since 2019[7]
  • Moko Tauariki, councillor for the Kirikiriroa Maaori ward since 2022[8]
  • Ewan Wilson, councillor in the West ward since 2019[9]
  • Kesh Naidoo-Rauf, councillor in the East ward since 2019[10]

Mayor

Main article: 2025 Hamilton mayoral election § List of candidates

Incumbent mayor Paula Southgate did not run for re-election. Incumbent councillor and former National MP Tim Macindoe contested the election, as well as incumbent councillors Sarah Thomson and Maria Huata. Rachel Karalus also ran.

Councillors

Kirikiriroa Maaori ward

The Kirikiriroa Maaori ward returned two councillors to the city council.[11]

Candidate[1][12] Affiliation[b] Notes
Jarrad Gallagher None
Maria Huata None Incumbent councillor since 2024 by-election.[8][14][15] Also ran for mayor.
Lawrence Jensen Independent
Robbie Neha Independent
Andrew Lewis Pope None
Jahvaya Watene Wheki Independent

West ward

The West ward returned six councillors to the city council.[11]

Candidate[1][12] Affiliation[b] Notes
Paul Alforque None Lawyer and consultant.[16]
Matthew Beveridge Independent
Mark Flyger Better Hamilton
Nidhita Gosai ACT Local Process safety engineer[17]
Louise Hutt None Incumbent councillor[15][18]
Mesh Macdonald Better Hamilton
Allan James McKie None
Graeme Mead Better Hamilton
Angela O'Leary Independent Incumbent councillor and deputy mayor[15]
Emma Pike Independent Incumbent councillor[15]
Dave Taylor None Also ran for mayor
Geoff Taylor None Incumbent councillor[15]
Sarah Thomson Independent Incumbent councillor,[15] also standing as a mayoral candidate
Mike West Better Hamilton
Roderick John Young None

East ward

The East ward returned six councillors to the city council.[11]

Candidate[1][12] Affiliation[b] Notes
Rachel Afeaki Independent
Stuart David Aitken Better Hamilton
Andrew Bydder Better Hamilton Incumbent councillor[15] and architectural designer[19][6]
Anna Casey-Cox None Incumbent councillor[15]
Preet Dhaliwal ACT Local Hospitality business owner[17]
Rudi du Plooy None Previously stood as a joint New Conservatives & NewZeal (formerly known as ONE Party) candidate in the 2022 Election for the Hamilton West electorate. Also ran for mayor.
Jack Gielen The Peoples Voice Former deputy leader for The Republic of New Zealand Party. Also ran for mayor.
Marie Hamilton Independent Ryan Hamilton, MP for Hamilton East representing the National Party is Marie's husband.
Louise Rachel Harvey New Zealand Constitution Party
Suhair Sabah Hassan New Zealand Constitution Party
Horiana Henderson Better Hamilton
Peter Humphreys None
Tim Hunt None
Jason Jonassen Independent
Rachel Karalus Independent Also ran for mayor.
Leo Liu Better Hamilton
Tim Macindoe Independent Incumbent councillor,[15] also standing as a mayoral candidate.
Danielle Marks None Green Party endorsed.[20][21][22]
Alexander Bruce McConnochie None
John McDonald Better Hamilton Also ran for mayor
Sue Moroney None Previously a Labour Party list MP, 2005-2017[23]
Jenny Nand Independent
Jono Ng Independent
Turi Robinson Independent
Jamie Strange Independent Previously a Labour List MP and then MP for Hamilton East, 2017-2023.[23]
Jackie Talbot Independent
Maxine van Oosten None Incumbent councillor[15]

Results

Mayor

Main article: 2025 Hamilton mayoral election § Results

Councillor Tim Macindoe won the mayoral election, with Sarah Thomson coming second.[24]

2025 Hamilton mayoral election[25][26]
Affiliation Candidate Primary vote % Iteration vote[c] Final %
Independent Tim MacIndoe 16,895 44.39 #9 18,275 50.30
Independent Sarah Thomson 9,240 24.28 #9 10,183 28.03
Independent Maria Huata 3,718 9.77 #9 4,329 11.91
Independent Rachel Karalus 3,049 8.01 #9 3,546 9.76
Independent Rudi Du Plooy 1,427 3.75 #8 1,692
Independent Dave Taylor 818 2.15 #7 1,047
Independent John McDonald 657 1.73 #6 759
Animal Justice Lily Carrington 632 1.66 #5 681
NZ Constitution Roma Tupaea-Warren 310 0.81 #4 347
Independent Jack Gielen 271 0.71 #3 292
Independent Roger Stratford 214 0.56 #2 220
Independent Guy Temoni-Syme 212 0.56 #1 212
Quota 18,722 49.19 #9 18,167 50.00
Informal 210 0.55
Blank 410 1.08
Turnout 38,063
Registered
Independent gain from Independent on 9th iteration

Council

West general ward

West general ward[25][27][28]
Affiliation Candidate Primary vote % Iteration vote[c]
Independent Sarah Thomson† 2,882 19.58 #1 2,882
Independent Geoff Taylor† 2,628 17.85 #1 2,628
Better Hamilton Graeme Mead 1,566 10.64 #10 2,035
Better Hamilton Mesh MacDonald 1,106 7.51 #16 2,324
Independent Angela O'Leary† 1,024 6.96 #18 1,936
Independent Emma Pike† 710 4.82 #21 1,868
Independent Louise Hutt† 989 6.72 #21 1,733
Better Hamilton Mark Flyger 712 4.84 #15 1,335
Better Hamilton Mike West 541 3.68 #11 908
Independent Dave Taylor 524 3.56 #9 785
ACT Local Nidhita Gosai 543 3.69 #7 630
Independent Allan McKie 416 2.83 #6 516
Independent Matthew Beveridge 408 2.78 #5 484
Independent Paul Alforque 188 1.28 #3 212
Independent Roderick Young 58 0.39 #2 65
Quota 2,042 13.87 #21 1,842
Informal 175 1.19
Blank 249 1.69
Turnout 14,719
Registered
Independent hold on 1st iteration
Independent hold on 1st iteration
Better Hamilton gain from Independent on 10th iteration
Better Hamilton gain from Independent Green on 16th iteration
Independent hold on 18th iteration
Independent hold on 21st iteration
† incumbent

East general ward

East general ward[25][29][28][30][31]
Affiliation Candidate Primary vote % Iteration vote[c]
Independent Rachel Karalus 2,288 11.96 #15 2,607
Better Hamilton Andrew Bydder† 1,916 10.02 #17 2,561
Independent Anna Casey-Cox† 1,593 8.33 #21 2,744
Independent Jamie Strange 1,511 7.90 #23 2,535
Better Hamilton Leo Liu 1,320 6.90 #24 2,588
Independent Sue Moroney 1,326 6.93 #25 2,431
Independent Marie Hamilton 1,135 5.93 #25 2,104
Independent Rudi Du Plooy 872 4.56 #22 1,317
Independent Maxine van Oosten† 848 4.43 #20 1,142
Independent Rachel Afeaki 773 4.04 #18 1,053
ACT Local Preet Dhaliwai 645 3.37 #16 796
Independent Green Danielle Marks 555 2.90 #15 718
Better Hamilton John McDonald 525 2.74 #14 647
Independent Jackie Talbot 491 2.57 #13 558
Independent Jenny Nand 457 2.39 #12 520
Better Hamilton Stuart Aitken 438 2.29 #11 484
Independent Peter Humphreys 376 1.97 #10 440
Better Hamilton Horiana Henderson 273 1.43 #9 298
Independent Jason Jonassen 229 1.20 #8 248
Independent Jono Ng 185 0.97 #7 191
Independent Tim Hunt 142 0.74 #6 147
Independent Jack Gielen 140 0.73 #5 146
Independent Alexander McConnochie 84 0.44 #4 84
NZ Constitution Suhair Hassan 73 0.38 #3 82
NZ Constitution Louise Harvey 46 0.24 #2 47
Independent Turi Robinson 29 0.15 #1 29
Independent Tim Macindoe† withdrawn (elected mayor)
Quota 2,610 13.64 #25 2,389
Informal 386 2.02
Blank 183 0.96
Turnout 19,131
Registered
Independent gain from Independent on 15th iteration
Better Hamilton gain from Team Integrity on 17th iteration[d]
Independent hold on 21st iteration
Independent gain from Independent on 23rd iteration
Better Hamilton gain from Independent on 24th iteration
Independent gain from Independent on 25th iteration
† incumbent

Kirikiriroa Maaori ward

Kirikiriroa Maaori ward[25][32]
Affiliation Candidate Primary vote % Iteration vote[c]
Independent Maria Huata† 2,620 62.19 #1 2,620
Independent Robbie Neha 511 12.13 #5 1,163
Independent Jahvaya Wheki 383 9.09 #5 1,013
Independent Jarrad Gallagher 350 8.31 #4 550
Independent Lawrence Jensen 189 4.49 #3 317
Independent Andrew Pope 20 0.47 #2 31
Quota 1,358 32.23 #5 1,159
Informal 71 1.69
Blank 69 1.64
Turnout 4,213
Registered
Independent hold on 1st iteration
Independent gain from Independent on 5th iteration
† incumbent

Maaori Ward Poll

ChoiceVotes%
I vote to KEEP Maaori wards19,19054.04
I vote to REMOVE Maaori wards16,32045.96
Total35,510100.00
Valid votes35,51093.29
Invalid/blank votes2,5536.71
Total votes38,063100.00
Source: [33]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    • 4 members from the city in the Hamilton general constituency.
    • 1 member partially from the city representing the Ngā Hau e Whā Māori constituency.
  2. ^ a b c A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party.[13]
  3. ^ a b c d Rounded to nearest whole number
  4. ^ Incumbent changed affiliation

References

  1. ^ a b c d "51 candidates stand for Hamilton City Council election". hamilton.govt.nz. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. ^ Ward, Stephen. "Dollars and 'sense' set to play key part in Hamilton election". The Waikato Times. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Hamilton City Council local election 2025". hamilton.govt.nz. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Local authority elections are being held in October 2025". www.waikatoregion.govt.nz. Waikato Regional Council. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Constituencies". www.waikatoregion.govt.nz. Waikato Regional Council. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b Ward, Stephen (10 June 2025). "Andrew Bydder and associates set to run for city council under 'Better Hamilton' banner". The Waikato Times. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  7. ^ Manhire, Toby (7 February 2025). "Who is in and who is out in the big mayoral races of 2025?". The Spinoff. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b Ward, Stephen (26 June 2025). "Trailblazing Māori ward councillor won't re-stand in 2025 elections". Waikato Times. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  9. ^ Ward, Stephen (11 July 2025). "'Once in a lifetime' role too good for city leader to pass up". Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  10. ^ A Message from Me to You With Gratitude, 3 July 2025, retrieved 1 August 2025
  11. ^ a b c "Stand | E Tuu". hamilton.govt.nz. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b c "NOTICE OF DAY OF ELECTION AND POLL FOR THE HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Candidate Information Handbook" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Hamilton City Council. p. 7. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  14. ^ Ward, Stephen; Morcom, Sarah (8 August 2024). "Maria Te Aukaha Huata wins vacant Hamilton Māori ward seat". Waikato Times. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mayor and Councillors". hamilton.govt.nz. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  16. ^ Chen, Liu (28 August 2025). "Asian candidates for Hamilton City Council align on spending cuts". Radio New Zealand.
  17. ^ a b ACT New Zealand (25 June 2025). "ACT Announces Nidhita Gosai & Preet Dhaliwal As ACT Local Candidates For Hamilton City Council". www.scoop.co.nz. Scoop. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  18. ^ Hutt, Louise. "Re-elect Louise Hutt #1 Hamilton West". Vote Louise Hutt. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Better Hamilton". Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Find your local candidates". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Vote Danielle Marks for Hamilton East 2025". marks4kirikiriroa.com. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Thanks for the warm welcome Kirikiriroa!". Instagram. Kirikiriroa Greens. 31 August 2025. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026.
  23. ^ a b "Two former Labour MPs vie for seats on Hamilton City Council". RNZ. 3 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  24. ^ Eley, Tom (16 October 2025). "Hamilton mayor-elect promises focus on city's core services". Waikato Herald. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  25. ^ a b c d "LGE2025 - Final" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. 18 October 2025.
  26. ^ "Mayor Iterations" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. October 2025.
  27. ^ "West Ward Iterations" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. October 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Voices from our Candidates". Better Hamilton. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025.
  29. ^ "East Ward Iterations" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. October 2025.
  30. ^ "Find your local candidates". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  31. ^ "Thanks for the warm welcome Kirikiriroa!". Instagram. Kirikiriroa Greens. 31 August 2025. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026.
  32. ^ "Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward Iterations" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. October 2025.
  33. ^ "LGE2025 - Final" (PDF). hamilton.govt.nz. Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.