Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo on first 12 months in the job It’s been ‘a hell of a year’

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo has now been in office for over a year. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland’s three mayors have been in the job for just over a year. Reporter Susan Botting sat down with each of them to find out how they are finding the role, what they consider their achievements and what is still left to do. First up is Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo.

Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo says his first 12 months at the helm have been “a hell of a year” for the council and its district.

“For a start, we had a year’s rain in the first six months of this [calendar year],” he said.

An ex-tropical cyclone or two, settling more than 400 staff into the $59 million Whangārei District Council civic centre and council head office Te Iwitahi, and a general election have all been in the mix.

“We’ve had a hell of a year,” he said.

Cocurullo said the council was still dealing with Cyclone Gabrielle’s effects, eight months on.

“We’ve still got two or three red-stickered houses, there are some roads that are still moving, and there are still a few roads that are one way only,” he said.

Late October’s Cyclone Lola did not help.

Cocurullo said Gabrielle’s huge impacts came in a year that also included getting the October-elected district council up and running — with 43 per cent of its politicians newcomers.

The council had done pretty well in the past year, all things considered, he said.

Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo with his mayoral souvenir from the Women’s Rugby World Cup games in the city last year. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Local Democracy Reporting Northland asked for his report card on how well his council had done this year, under his helm.

“I would have to say a B,” Cocurullo said, after much thought.

He said there were many positives including the Whangārei Maritime Festival, which attracted more than 13,000 people. The central business area had a great City Safe team. Consents were now being processed in less than 20 days.

But Gabrielle had interrupted many of the council’s plans, meaning much of the district’s aimed-for roading improvements had still not happened.

Cocurullo was elected mayor of Whangārei district on October 18 last year, after becoming a councillor in 2007. It was his third attempt to win the top job after losing in 2016 and 2019.

He earned $163,689 for his first year as mayor — just over $13,500 a month — and is Northland’s highest-earning local government head.

Cocurullo leads New Zealand’s eighth-largest council, with a $205 million council operating budget, 14 elected local government politicians (including his role), 408 staff and 105,000 residents.

Whangārei is one of the few councils in New Zealand that straddle both worlds, with urban and rural featuring equally strongly.

Its proximity to Auckland puts growth pressure on the district. By 2050, there will be an estimated 200,000 people living in Whangārei.

“Some people want Whangārei to stay as it is, others want it to become much bigger,” he said.

Future planning was important, Cocurullo said.

An example of this could be seen with the work that started 25 years ago to get Whangārei’s three waters infrastructure sorted. The council was now among New Zealand’s best positioned in this sector, he said.

Cocurullo said a mayor must be a facilitator.

The skills used in his IT business, which he still runs, helped in the role.

“The IT work is often about calming stressed people, about getting to grips with the issues and finding out what the problems are and then getting the solutions,” Cocurullo said.

Finishing SH1 four-laning from Warkworth into Northland is essential, says Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Meanwhile, Cocurullo’s clear about what he wants from the incoming government in its first 100 days.

Canning the Three Waters reforms is at the top of his list.

Then there is a clutch of commitments he wants: four-laning the last 80km of the Auckland to Northland State Highway 1; enough government money to build a proper Whangārei Hospital rather than the budget-hit alternative on the books; and extending the North Auckland rail line to Marsden Point.

These will in turn allow Auckland’s port to shift to Whangārei, doubling the size of Marsden Point’s port.

Cocurullo is on Te Whatu Ora’s capital works steering committee for Northland. He said he had no doubts the new hospital would proceed as already planned, under the new government.

He also wants a change in the government’s approach to the district council.

“And I want to see a change in government attitude to local government. We should always be part of the solution, not be told what to do,” he said.

“I will be watching — very closely.”

Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo and the council’s new $59 million Te Iwitahi civic centre. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Meanwhile, when it comes to the council’s next 12 months, its mega 10-year budget dominates Cocurullo’s thoughts.

The council is putting together the budget against the backdrop of competing demands and belt-tightened times. The gigantic piece of work underpinning the council’s 2024-2034 functioning has to be finished by June.

Cocurullo’s hope for Whangārei is that it becomes an even better place for business.

“I want a community working together in a district that has a strong economy with people employed, people knowing it’s a safe place to be.

“It’s about everything being in place for that to happen.”

ABOUT THOSE VESTS . . .

Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo is invested in vests.

He has one for every day of the week if need be.

Each vest has a story in his growing collection that mixes off-the-peg with individually tailored.

Cocurullo’s mayoralty has allowed him to indulge his passion for fashion.

“I like to look good,” he says.

Whangārei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo is invested in vests, the purple-toned garment in his left hand made by his mother and worn to his formal investiture. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Cocurullo’s suite of vests includes one his mother made a year before she died. That was not long before he stepped into the top job. He wore this vest at his 2022 mayoral investiture.

The vest was created with the pattern an Italian tailor in Wellington used for a predecessor and suiting he made for Cocurullo.

“The tailor gave me the vest pattern when he shut up shop.”

Cocurullo likes to wear a vest, a snappy shirt and a tie.

He says being well dressed is particularly important in the council chambers.

Cocurullo’s newest vest is his most patriotic, advertising the district on its bright-yellow front with “Whangārei Love it Here”. The vest is made out of two T-shirts from the council’s Tarewa i-Site turned into a vest by a local sewing shop.

Others with the same wording but in different colours are now in the pipeline.

Next week: Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air