Mayor of Waipa

The mayor of Waipā officiates over the Waipa District of New Zealand's North Island. There have been five mayors since the formation of Waipā District in 1989. The incumbent mayor is Susan O'Regan, who was elected on 8 October 2022.

Mayor of Waipa
Incumbent
Susan O'Regan
since 2022
StyleHis/Her Worship
Seat101 Bank Street, Te Awamutu
Term length3 years
Formation1989
First holderBruce Berquist

History

Bruce Berquist was elected the first mayor of Waipā District in 1989, defeating chief executive of Hamilton Airport, Barry O'Connor.[1] Berquist stood down at the 1995 local-body elections, when the mayoralty was contested by Te Miro farmer John Hewitt and the National Party MP Katherine O'Regan. Most pundits considered that O'Regan would win, but Hewitt was elected with a substantial majority. Hewitt considered resigning the following year when his wife, Joslyn, was diagnosed and subsequently died from bone cancer. However, he remained in office, and was re-elected in 1998 with a majority of 400 votes, before deciding not to seek re-election in 2001.[2][3]

Alan Livingston was elected mayor in 2001, and served four terms before stepping down in 2013.[4] Livingston later served as chair of the Waikato Regional Council from 2016 to 2019, and was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to sports and the community, in the 2014 New Year Honours.[5]

Jim Mylchreest, was first elected in 2013, with a margin of more than 600 votes over nearest rival Pat Bishop in a four-candidate race.[6] He was re-elected in 2016, defeating the only other candidate, Vern Wilson, by over 4500 votes,[7] and was elected unopposed in 2019.[8]

In 2022, he lost by 1900 votes to two-term councillor Susan O'Regan, whose mother Katherine O'Regan had missed out on the mayoralty in 1995.[9]

List of officeholders
Name Portrait Term of office
1 Bruce Berquist 1989–1995
2 John Hewitt 1995–2001
3 Alan Livingston 2001–2013
4 Jim Mylchreest 2013–2022
5 Susan O'Regan 2022–present

References
  1. "Winging his way to new horizons". Waikato Times. 25 August 2001.
  2. Gill, Mary Anne (18 June 2001). "Waipa's mayor calls it a day - to spend more time down on the farm". Waikato Times.
  3. "John Hewitt". Te Awamutu Courier. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. "Waipa mayor Alan Livingston steps down". Waikato Times. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. Smallman, Elton; Edwards, Steve (31 December 2013). "Four ex-Waikato mayors named in NY Honours". Waikato Times. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  6. Posselt, Viv (14 October 2013). "New mayor's long-held desire fulfilled". Waikato Times. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. Tantau, Kelley (8 October 2016). "Jim Mylchreest reelected Waipa mayor for second term". Stuff. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  8. Farrow, Gary (20 August 2019). "One horse mayoral races 'alarming', says political commentator". Waikato Times. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. Gill, Mary Anne (8 October 2022). "Susan O'Regan elected Waipā mayor". Cambridge News. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
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