2025 Napier City Council election
Elections in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025 Napier City Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Napier, New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 October 2025
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 46,278[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 21,325 (46.08%)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Mayoral election | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
11 seats on the Napier City Council 6 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Voters elected the mayor of Napier and 11 city councillors for the 2025–2028 term of the Napier City Council. Postal voting and the first-past-the-post voting system were used.
Councillor Richard McGrath won the mayoralty, defeating incumbent mayor Kirsten Wise.
In the prior term, the council had voted to introduce a Māori ward for this election; in a referendum on its future held at this election (as part of a nation-wide series of referendums) voters elected to remove the Māori ward for future elections.
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 were published
- 16–19 October 2025: Final results were declared.[2][3]
Background
Positions up for election
Voters elected the mayor of Napier and 12 councillors from 4 wards. They also elected 4 members of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.[a][4][5]
Campaign
Māori wards referendum
A group called For Wards Hawke's Bay formed to support the pro-ward position at the referendums in the wider Hawke's Bay region. The group held a meeting on 23 July in Clive chaired by regional council chair Rex Graham, with various speakers including local Presbyterian minister Jill McDonald, Hastings Māori ward councillor Heather Te Au-Skipworth, HB Multicultural Society president Rizwaana Latiff and Hayley Whittaker from the Public Service Association.[6]
Hawke's Bay Today asked the mayoral candidates whether they supported the group; mayor Wise said she had been working closely with them, Richard McGrath said he had no opinion on the group, and Nigel Simpson said he was not familiar with the group and that he was against Māori wards.[7]
List of candidates
Incumbents not seeking re-election
Mayor
| Candidate[11] | Affiliation[b] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard McGrath | Commonsense change, needs before wants | Councillor since 2014.[10][9] Also ran for re-election as a councillor for the Napier Central general ward. | |
| Nigel Simpson | Independent | Councillor since 2019, stood for the mayoralty in 2022 and lost to Wise.[13] Also ran for re-election as a councillor for the Taradale general ward. | |
| Kirsten Wise | Independent | Incumbent mayor since 2019[8] | |
Councillors
Te Whanga Māori ward
Te Whanga Māori ward returned two councillors to the city council.[14]
Ahuriri general ward
Ahuriri general ward returned three councillors to the city council.[14]
| Candidate[11] | Affiliation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iain Bradley | ACT Local | [16] | |
| Roger Brownlie | Independent | Retailer and orchardist[15] | |
| Louise Burnside | Independent | ||
| Sally Crown | Experienced, Strong, Grounded | Incumbent councillor since 2019[8][9] | |
| Karl Goodchild | Lower Rates | Previously ran for council in 2022[17] | |
| Juliet Greig | None | Incumbent councillor since 2022[8][9] | |
| Lyndal Johansson | Independent, fresh voice | [15] | |
| Ben Newport | Independent | ||
| Keith Price | Independent | Incumbent councillor since 2010[8][9] | |
Napier Central general ward
Napier Central general ward returned three councillors to the city council.[14]
| Candidate[11] | Affiliation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te Kira Lawrence | Independent | Previously ran for council in 2022[18] | |
| Taiatini Lepaio | Independent | [15] | |
| Greg 'Grego' Mawson | Working with you, for you | Incumbent councillor since 2019[8][9][15] | |
| Richard McGrath | Your Community Representative | Incumbent councillor since 2014.[9] Also ran for mayor. | |
| Craig Morley | Get back to basics | ||
Taradale general ward
Taradale general ward returned three councillors to the city council.[14]
Results
Mayor
Councillor Richard McGrath won the mayoralty, defeating incumbent mayor Kirsten Wise.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Richard McGrath | 10,185 | 47.76 | (new) | |
| Independent | Kirsten Wise† | 6,763 | 31.71 | ||
| Independent | Nigel Simpson | 3,989 | 18.71 | ||
| Informal votes | 12 | 0.06 | |||
| Blank votes | 376 | 1.76 | |||
| Turnout | 21,325 | 46.08 | |||
| Registered electors | 46,278 | ||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
| † incumbent | |||||
Council
Ahuriri General Ward
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Roger Brownlie | 3,547 | 46.99 | ||
| Independent | Keith Price† | 2,946 | 39.03 | ||
| Independent | Sally Crown | 2,584 | 34.23 | (new) | |
| ACT Local | Iain Bradley | 2,325 | 30.80 | (new) | |
| Independent | Louise Burnside | 1,980 | 26.23 | ||
| Independent | Karl Goodchild | 1,805 | 23.91 | ||
| Independent | Lyndal Johansson | 1,764 | 23.37 | (new) | |
| Independent | Juliet Greig | 1,610 | 21.33 | (new) | |
| Independent | Ben Newport | 1,158 | 15.34 | (new) | |
| Informal votes | 9 | 0.12 | |||
| Blank votes | 118 | 1.56 | |||
| Turnout | 7,549 | 53.52 | |||
| Registered electors | 14,104 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| † incumbent | |||||
Napier Central General Ward
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Richard McGrath (withdrawn) | 3,685 | 71.78 | n/a | |
| Independent | Greg Mawson | 3,038 | 59.17 | n/a | |
| Independent | Craig Morley | 2,342 | 45.62 | n/a | |
| Independent | Te Kira Lawrence | 1,983 | 38.62 | n/a | |
| Independent | Taiatini Lepaio | 1,370 | 26.68 | n/a | |
| Informal votes | 2 | 0.04 | n/a | ||
| Blank votes | 85 | 1.66 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | 5,134 | 38.30 | n/a | ||
| Registered electors | 13,404 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Taradale General Ward
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Graeme Taylor† | 4,560 | 64.22 | ||
| Independent | Ronda Chrystal† | 4,311 | 60.71 | ||
| Independent | Nigel Simpson† | 3,860 | 54.36 | ||
| Independent | Terry Cornish | 3,085 | 43.44 | (new) | |
| Informal votes | 1 | 0.01 | |||
| Blank votes | 163 | 2.30 | |||
| Turnout | 7,101 | 51.26 | |||
| Registered electors | 13,852 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| † incumbent | |||||
Te Whanga Māori Ward
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Shyann Raihania | 1,049 | 68.07 | n/a | |
| Independent | Whare Isaac-Sharland | 764 | 49.58 | n/a | |
| Independent | Kirk Leonard | 566 | 36.73 | n/a | |
| Informal votes | 0 | 0.00 | n/a | ||
| Blank votes | 45 | 2.92 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | 1,541 | 31.33 | n/a | ||
| Registered electors | 4,918 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Māori Ward Poll
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I vote to keep the Māori ward | 8,844 | 43.14 | |
| I vote to remove the Māori ward | 11,656 | 56.86 | |
| Total | 20,500 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 20,500 | 96.13 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 825 | 3.87 | |
| Total votes | 21,325 | 100.00 | |
| Source: [22] | |||
See also
Notes
- 3 representing the city exclusively.
- 1 representing the wider region from a Māori constituency.
- A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party. Napier City Council does not allow whānau, hapū, or iwi details to be used for the affiliation.[12]