2025 Hamilton mayoral election
New Zealand election
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The 2025 Hamilton mayoral election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Hamilton, New Zealand, as part of that year's city council election and nation-wide local elections. Voters elected the mayor of Hamilton for the 2025–2028 term of the Hamilton City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system were used.
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11 October 2025
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| Turnout | 38,063 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The incumbent mayor Paula Southgate did not run for a second term.
Candidate names were provisionally released by the City Council on 1 August identifying 12 candidates.[1]
Tim Macindoe was elected mayor, receiving 18,275 votes to Sarah Thomson’s 10,183.[2]
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 will be published
- 16–19 October 2025: Final results will be declared.[3][4]
Background
Campaign
During the Hamilton mayoral election, Macindoe ran on a conservative platform of "cost reductions" including lower rates and "slimming down" the Hamilton City Council. His main competitor Sarah Thomson ran on a progressive platform of opposing cuts to Council services, improving housing and bus services, and keeping rates "affordable."[5]
List of candidates
Declared
| Candidate[1][6] | Photo | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lily Carrington | Animal Justice Party | Previously ran for the mayoralty in 2022[8][9] | ||
| 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 to be a councillor for the East general ward. | ||
| Jack Gielen | The Peoples Voice | Perennial candidate, having stood in every election for the Hamilton mayoralty since 2010.[8] Also ran to be a councillor for the East general ward. | ||
| Maria Huata | None | Incumbent councillor for the Kirikiriroa Maaori ward.[10][11] Also ran for re-election as a councillor. | ||
| Rachel Karalus | Independent | Former head of the K'aute Pasifika charitable trust.[12][11] Also ran to be a councillor for the East general ward. | ||
| Tim Macindoe | .jpg) |
Independent | Incumbent councillor for the East ward, and former MP for Hamilton West.[13][14][11] Also ran for re-election as a councillor. | |
| John McDonald | None | Also ran to be a councillor for the East general ward.[8] | ||
| Roger Stratford | None | Previously stood in the 2024 Hamilton East ward by-election[8] | ||
| Dave Taylor | None | Also ran to be a councillor for the West general ward.[8] | ||
| Guy Wayne Temoni-Syme | None | [8] | ||
| Sarah Thomson | Independent | Incumbent councillor for the West ward.[13][14][11] Also ran for re-election as a councillor. | ||
| Roma Tupaea-Warren | New Zealand Constitution Party | Founder of the New Zealand Constitution Party[8] | ||
Results
Tim Macindoe won the mayoral election, with Sarah Thomson coming second.[15][16][17]
| Affiliation | Candidate | Primary vote | % | Iteration vote[b] | 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 | |||||||