Tania Tapsell

Tania Tapsell (born 22 September 1992)[1] is a New Zealand politician. She has served on the Rotorua Lakes District Council since 2013 and was elected mayor of Rotorua at the 2022 local elections. She is the first woman of Māori descent to hold the role.[2]

Tania Tapsell
15th Mayor of Rotorua
Assumed office
8 October 2022
DeputySandra Kai Fong
Preceded bySteve Chadwick
Rotorua Lakes District councillor
In office
12 October 2013 – 8 October 2022
Personal details
Born (1992-09-22) 22 September 1992
Rotorua, New Zealand
Political partyNational
SpouseKanin Clancy
RelationsPeter Tapsell (great-uncle)
Alma materUniversity of Waikato

Early life

Tapsell was born and raised in Rotorua. She attended Rotorua Girls' High School but left at age 16 in order to attend Waiariki Institute of Technology, where she got diplomas in business and marketing.[3][4] She achieved a Bachelor of Management Studies Degree from the University of Waikato.[5]

Political career

At age 14, Tapsell served on Rotorua's youth council. In 2010, she was selected by Todd McClay to represent the Rotorua electorate at the New Zealand Youth Parliament.[3]

Rotorua District councillor, 2013–2022

In 2013, Tapsell was elected to the Rotorua Lakes District Council.[3] At 21, she was the youngest councillor ever elected,[4] until the election of 19 year old Fisher Wang in 2019.[6] In 2016 and 2019 she was re-elected as the highest polling candidate.[7] During the 2019 election, Tapsell accused mayoral candidate Reynold MacPherson of hate speech after a Facebook post comparing her to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The council made a formal complaint to the police, which was criticised by the Free Speech Coalition as a violation of the bill of rights.[8] She voted against the adoption of Māori wards in 2021, arguing that while some councils may need them to ensure representation, Rotorua did not.[9]

Tapsell marched with students during the School Strike for Climate in 2019,[10] however she believes farmers should be excluded from the Zero Carbon Act.[11]

National Party candidacy

On 6 June 2020, Tapsell was selected as the National Party candidate for the East Coast electorate,[5] having been a member of the party since she was a teen.[12] At the 2020 general election, she failed to retain the seat for National, losing to Labour MP Kiri Allan.[13] She expressed interest in running again at the 2023 New Zealand general election.[14] She was speculated by the media as a possible candidate in the 2022 Tauranga by-election,[15] but declined.[16]

Mayor of Rotorua, 2022–present

On 10 May 2022, Tapsell announced that she would run for mayor of Rotorua.[1] Tapsell announced she would name fellow Councillor Sandra Kai Fong as deputy mayor if both are elected to the council in the October local election.[17] Tapsell campaigned on reducing Council spending on Rotorua Museum and the Aquatic Centre, combating crime and vandalism, and restoring the city's image as a tourist destination.[1][17]

On 8 October, Tapsell was elected as Mayor, becoming the first Māori woman to be elected as Mayor of Rotorua.[2] She defeated fellow mayoral candidate Ben Sandford by almost 3,300 votes. She and her fellow councillors were sworn into office on 22 October.[18]

In mid February 2023, Tapsell and the majority of the Rotorua Lakes Council voted to progress a submissions policy that would allow the Council to reject public submissions that were deemed offensive, discriminatory or contained personal threats. Tapsell said that there had been a significant increase in offensive submissions. The submissions policy was criticised by Councillors Robert Lee, Conan O'Brien and Don Patterson on free speech grounds. In response, the New Zealand Free Speech Union warned that it would take legal action against the Council. Tapsell responded that the Council would respond appropriately and disputed assertions that the submissions policy infringed on free speech.[19]

Personal life

Tapsell married Kanin Clancy on 1 December 2020.[20] With him she has a stepson named Kaiarahi. On 10 March 2023, Tapsell announced that they were expecting a baby girl in June. On 2 June she gave birth to Kahumoa at Rotorua Hospital, making her the first mayor in New Zealand to give birth while in office.[21][22]

Her iwi are Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue, and she has Danish ancestry as a descendent of Phillip Tapsell.[23][24] She is the great niece of former Labour MP and Speaker of the House Sir Peter Tapsell.[3]

References
  1. Desmarais, Felix (10 May 2022). "Tania Tapsell to stand for mayor of Rotorua Lakes Council". Rotorua Daily Post. The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022.
  2. "Tania Tapsell elected Rotorua mayor". Te Ao Maori News. 8 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  3. "Young face at the council table". University of Waikato. 16 October 2013.
  4. Taipari, Greg (10 December 2013). "Te Maori: Another brick in success wall". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  5. "Tania Tapsell National's new candidate for East Coast". New Zealand National Party. 6 June 2020.
  6. Bathgate, Benn (12 October 2019). "19-year-old Rotorua councillor' stunned by election result". Stuff.
  7. Tyson, Jessica (8 June 2020). "Tapsell felt a moral obligation to step forward as National candidate". Te Ao Māori News.
  8. Makiha, Kelly (27 May 2019). "'Hate speech' row erupts after Rotorua councillor Tania Tapsell compared to the Pied Piper". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  9. Desmarais, Felix (21 May 2021). "Rotorua Lakes Council adopts Māori wards". RNZ.
  10. Sparks, Zizi (16 March 2019). "Rotorua students leave school to strike for climate change". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  11. Wrigley, Wynsley (20 August 2020). "Meet the candidates". The Gisborne Herald.
  12. Braae, Alex (16 August 2020). "The youngest in the room: Meet National's 28-year-old East Coast candidate". The Spinoff.
  13. Sparks, Zizi (17 October 2020). "Election 2020: National's Tania Tapsell loses East Coast electorate". Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand Herald.
  14. "Bells ring for Tapsell campaign close". Waatea News. 21 October 2020.
  15. Edwards, Bryce (16 March 2022). "Behind Simon Bridges' shock departure, and what comes next". Stuff.
  16. Sheridan, Dan (5 April 2022). "'It won't be me': Tapsell rules herself out of Tauranga race". Stuff.
  17. "Tania Tapsell launches Rotorua mayoral bid, saying city needs to get back on track fast". Stuff. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  18. "New Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell sworn into role at inaugural meeting". Radio New Zealand. 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  19. "Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell pushes back on submissions saga amid legal threat". Rotorua Daily Post. 11 February 2023. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  20. Makiha, Kelly (5 June 2021). "Rotorua district councillor Tania Tapsell weds Kanin Clancy in secret mountain-top wedding". Rotorua Daily Post. The New Zealand Herald.
  21. Rawling, Caitlin (10 March 2023). "Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell pregnant with baby girl". Newshub. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023.
  22. Smith, Laura (8 June 2023). "Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell delivers baby girl and announces unique name". New Zealand Herald.
  23. Ogden, Gavin (29 September 2020). "Local Focus: Who is Tania Tapsell, National candidate for East Coast?". New Zealand Herald.
  24. "Tapsell whanau's Danish story revealed". Waatea News. 6 May 2021.
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