The mayor of Horowhenua officiates over the Horowhenua District Council.
Bernie Wanden has been mayor since 2019. Before being elected as mayor, he had served as a Horowhenua councillor.
List of mayors Since its inception in 1989, Horowhenua District has had five mayors: NamePortraitTerm1 Malcolm Guy1989–19952 Tom Robinson1995–20043 Brendan Duffy 2004–20164 Michael Feyen 2016–20195 Bernie Wanden 2019–present
Deputy mayor The deputy mayor is appointed by the mayor at the first meeting of the council following the triennial elections. Whilst the deputy mayor exercises the same roles as other elected members, they must also perform the responsibilities and duties of the mayor if the mayor is absent, incapacitated, or the office of the mayor is vacant. The deputy mayor can be removed from office if decided upon by the council.
Controversies In October 2016, Ross Campbell was appointed as deputy mayor by newly-elected mayor Michael Feyen. However, in December 2016, the remaining nine councillors voted against this decision, with longstanding councillor Wayne Bishop elected to replace Campbell. After this vote, Feyen attempted to reappoint Campbell as deputy mayor, seeking a judicial review to remove Bishop from office and reinstate Campbell. In 2017, it was decided that Campbell had no legal standing and that the council would continue on with business as usual, with Bishop as deputy mayor.
List of deputy mayors
+NameTermMayorBrendan Duffy1998–2001RobinsonUnknown2001–David Colling2002–2006Robinson DuffyDuffyBarry Judd–2013Garry Good2013–2016Ross Campbell2016FeyenWayne Bishop2016–2019Jo Mason2019–2022WandenDavid Allan2022–present
References