Kat Macmillan is one of the Tauranga General consituency's new councillors. Photo / Mead Norton
Tauranga has two new councillors to represent the city at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Ron Scott and Kat Macmillan have been elected to their first terms as councillors representing the Tauranga General constituency at the regional level.
They were among 17 candidates vying for five seats - a constituency made popular amid the lack of Tauranga City Council elections this year.
The other successful candidates were incumbents Stuart Crosby, Paula Thompson, and Andrew von Dadelszen. Sitting councillor David Love was not successful.
Macmillan said she had no idea where she would place. Progressive results as of Saturday night showed she received 8281 votes – the fifth-highest of all candidates.
"When I got the phone call, I was pretty overwhelmed to be honest. I sort of welled up," she said.
"It's been a long, hard campaign with a lot of candidates, so there was no point [at which] I felt, 'Oh yeah, this is in the bag'. All the way through, you just didn't know. Especially as a first-timer. It's a bit harder to get in, I think, the first time. So I'm just overjoyed."
Macmillan said she felt people might have taken note of her leadership background, her transparency about her values and that she was "here for the right reasons".
"I'm not just here for a position. I'm here to do the good governance work of regional council."
Macmillan served as chief executive of Tauranga Riding for Disabled and regional manager of the Heart Foundation, and campaigned on liveability, sustainability, and value for money.
MacMillan celebrated with friends on Saturday night before training for a marathon on Sunday morning.
"All the way along I was pretty apprehensive, so all the apprehension and emotion going with it, it was quite good to get to run it out," she said.
New councillor Ron Scott was the Tauranga general constituency's second-highest polling candidate, with 10,477 votes behind him according to the progressive results.
Scott said Saturday night had been "a bit nerve-wracking", as he did not receive confirmation of his election until close to 5pm.
"I thought they might be taking a while to ring me because 'S' was towards the end of the alphabet."
Scott said he had "heaps of gratitude" for all his supporters and he saw his new role as a responsibility.
"It's going to be a busy week all around."
Scott said the key issues for him were Three Waters and transport.
"It's about giving not only physical access but appropriate access to public transport."
As an economist, Scott said he was interested in making sure the council spent ratepayers' money conscientiously.
"All I'm promising is to look at things sensibly and keep my telephone line open."
Former Tauranga mayor and current Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby was re-elected as a councillor and will serve his third term on the council.
Crosby was the highest-polling candidate for a Tauranga seat, with 11,798 votes as of Saturday, when about 90 per cent of the vote had been counted.
Crosby said no matter how many times he'd been through the election process, it was always a humbling experience.
"I'm gratified for the support I had."
Crosby said he did notice some key differences in this election.
"We're the first local election government post-Covid," Crosby told the Bay of Plenty Times.
"The feedback I've received [has been] around all the changes and uncertainty in terms of Three Waters and resource management changes."
Crosby said what didn't surprise him was a poor understanding of the role of regional council among urban Tauranga voters.
"We've got a lot of work to do to engage better with the Tauranga community, so they have a stronger understanding of what we do and they can participate better."
Crosby said public transport was the biggest issue facing the newly-elected regional council.
"It's the regional council's biggest investment in Tauranga, and it's not delivering.
"We've got to work together with central government and the city council to get value for money."
David Love was the only serving regional councillor not successful in re-election. However, he was not saddened at missing out.
"I've done nine years already. If I served again, I'd be 78 when I finished," he said.
"I was debating about whether to stand again at the last election, but a number of people wanted me to, so I did. So, I won't say I'm relieved, but I'm not unhappy."
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Love said he originally stood for the regional council to pay back what the community had given him: "A great life."
"I'm quite content," he said.
During his last term as councillor, Love was chairman of the Civic Defence Emergency Management Group and the Risk and Assurance Committee.
"I'm really happy with what I achieved. It's not a bad time to bow out."
Tauranga General Constituency
• Stuart Crosby - 11,798
• Ron Scott - 10,477
• Paula Thompson - 9,573
• Andrew von Dadelszen - 8,582
• Kat Macmillan - 8,281
Eastern Bay of Plenty General Constituency
• Malcolm Campbell - 6,408
• Doug Leeder - 4,785
Western Bay of Plenty General Constituency
• Jane Nees - 7,162
• Ken Shirley - 5,546
Rotorua General Constituency
• Kevin Winters - 6,361
• Lyall Thurston - 5,980
Māuao Māori Constituency
• Matemoana McDonald - 1,102
Ōkurei Māori Constituency
• Te Taru White - 1,590
Kohi Māori Constituency
• Toi Kai Rākau Iti - Unopposed
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