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2025 New Plymouth District Council election

The 2025 New Plymouth District Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in the New Plymouth District of New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.

Voters elected the mayor of New Plymouth, 14 district councillors, and other local representatives for the 2025–2028 term of the New Plymouth District Council. Postal voting and the single transferable voting system were used.

Councillor Max Brough won the mayoralty in a landslide, with incumbent mayor Neil Holdom not having stood for re-election.

The council introduced a Māori ward at the 2022 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.

Background

Positions up for election

Voters in the district elected the mayor of New Plymouth, 14 councillors from 5 wards, and the members of five community boards (Clifton, Inglewood, Kaitake, Puketapu-Bell Block, and Waitara). They also elected members of the Taranaki Regional Council.

Campaign

List of candidates

Incumbents not seeking re-election

  • Tony Bedford, councillor since 2019
  • Harry Duynhoven, former mayor (2010–2013) and councillor since a 2015 by-election
  • Bali Haque, councillor since 2022
  • Anneka Carlson Matthews, councillor since 2019
  • Neil Holdom, mayor since 2016
  • Marie Pearce, councillor since 2010

Mayor

Withdrawn

  • Murray Chong, incumbent councillor for the Kaitake-Ngāmotu ward, had indicated in May that he would run for the mayoralty, but instead just ran for re-election as a councillor.
  • Murray "Mullet Muzz" McDowell, had previously indicated that he would run for the mayoralty, but instead just ran to be elected as a councillor for the Kaitake-Ngāmotu ward.

Councillors

Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa Māori ward

Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa Māori ward returned one councillor to the district council.

Kaitake-Ngāmotu general ward

Kaitake-Ngāmotu general ward returned six councillors to the district council.

Kōhanga Moa general ward

Kōhanga Moa general ward returned one councillor to the district council.

North general ward

North general ward returned one councillor to the district council.

At-large ward

Five councillors were elected at-large to the district council.

Results

Summary

Mayor

At-large ward

Kaitāke-Ngāmotu general ward

Kōhanga Moa general ward

North general ward

Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa Māori ward

Māori Ward Poll

Notes

References