Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, 17 October 2022
Paula Southgate has made a return to the helm as Mayor of Hamilton, with 15,880 votes, ahead of first-time contender Geoff Taylor with 14,043.
In Waikato, Southgate is the only Mayor re-elected and she now has four new female leaders join her across the region.
Paula Southgate, Mayor of Hamilton (Photo Provided)
All previous Ward Councillors were also re-elected and are joined by six new faces around the table. The total mix includes nine women and six men.
Ms Southgate has announced a three-pronged senior team to lead Council over the coming three years.
Southgate today confirmed six-term councillor, Angela O’Leary, as deputy mayor. O’Leary will also chair the Infrastructure and Transport Committee on Council. Three-term councillor Ryan Hamilton has been confirmed in a new role as senior chair, also providing support to the mayor. Hamilton will also chair the Strategic Growth and District Plan Committee.
She said that growth, infrastructure and planning were the most important and challenging issues facing the city over the coming triennium and that she, O’Leary and Hamilton were a “strong and experienced trio”.
She also said that Hamilton has huge potential and the council needs to ensure they capture and exploit it, while dealing with growth challenges and opportunities. These issues are coming at us in the face of unprecedented change in the sector with major reforms to work through. The pace of change will be relentless and strong and experienced leaders in key positions were needed.
Ms Southgate said “A three-pronged approach will provide that, and I am grateful to have two resilient and experienced people in support, chairing critical committees on behalf of our city. I also need support from them in my role as mayor.”
At the first formal Council meeting held today, Southgate formally proposed six main committees:
Infrastructure and Transport: Chair O’Leary, Deputy Chair Maxine van Oosten
Strategic Growth and District Plan: Chair Hamilton, Deputy Chair Sarah Thomson
Community and Environment: Chair Kesh Naidoo-Rauf, Deputy Chair Anna Casey-Cox
Finance and Monitoring: Chair Maxine van Oosten, Deputy Chair Moko Tauariki
Economic Development: Chair Ewan Wilson, Deputy Chair Geoff Taylor
Regulatory and Hearings: Chair Mark Donovan, Deputy Chair Ewan Wilson
Three sub-committees were proposed: Community Grants Allocation, Dog Control Panel and Traffic, Speed Limit and Road Closure Hearings Panel. A Strategic Risk and Assurance Committee will continue to be chaired independently.
“There remain several other appointments to work through, including regional representation responsibilities so there’s still some work to be done and decisions made. I intend to consider the particular interests and skills of all councillors – including the six new councillors – and align those as much as possible. I need people to be hard-working and passionate because that is what our city deserves.”
Hamilton is growing its boundaries, both physically and economically and the voters are positive about the growth spurt to continue with the re-election of Ms Southgate as the Mayor.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Hamilton.
An exclusive Indian Newslink interview with the Mayor will be published in a Follow up article shortly.
