Cr Moko Tepania throws hat in the ring to become next Far North Mayor

Cr Moko Tepania with his whānau has kickstarted his campaign to become the next Far North mayor. Photo / Supplied

If successful, he'll be the youngest-ever Far North Mayor since the establishment of the Far North District Council, yet Moko Tepania says he's up for the challenge.

The 31-year-old Far North District councillor has officially announced his intention to run as the next Far North mayor, following the opening of this year's local body election nominations on Friday.

Tepania (Ngāti Kahu Ki Whaingaroa/Te Rarawa) was voted in as a Kaikohe-Hokianga Ward councillor at the last local government election in 2019, which he balances with his other role as a te reo Māori teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe.

Tepania said it was during the recent Matariki weekend that he had time to reflect on his time in council and what he wanted to do for the region moving forward.

He said with the upcoming retirement of current Far North Mayor John Carter, the encouragement from the community, friends and whānau to go for the role was too loud to ignore.

"To be honest I was initially quite reluctant to throw my hat in the ring," Tepania said.

"Ever since I became a councillor, I've had so much encouragement from the community, as well as from whānau, who have pushed me to run for mayor.

"I felt it would be hugely disrespectful to all these people who support me to not have a solid reason for not running.

"At the end of the day, I couldn't think of any reason why I shouldn't do it."

Tepania was born in Whangārei and grew up in Hikurangi, before graduating from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) and Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Te Reo Māori and Anthropology).

He's also travelled extensively around the world, is a keen cross-fitter, has taught himself Spanish and loves to ingest books for leisure.

Despite growing up as a "townie", Tepania explained he'd always held a close connection to his roots, with each school holiday spent at his whenua (family land) in Whangaroa and Mitimiti.

Kaikohe-Hokianga Ward councillor Moko Tepania. Photo / Supplied

Tepania believed it was his ability to connect with people from all walks of life and his desire to create more unity across the Far North that was his greatest asset as a potential mayor.

"I don't want to go into this with any huge promises because I want to keep my eyes and ears open to what people in the community need and work from there," Tepania said.

"I'm outcomes-focused and don't like to have 'huis without the do-ies', so I want to ensure things we talk about as a council can also be delivered and services are equal across the district.

"In particular, things like communication around service delivery, as well as smarter waste management solutions are key areas I think need attention."

This year's local government elections will look different to previous elections, with the introduction of a new voting system and four new Māori ward councillors.

With more than 50 per cent of the Far North District population identifying as Māori and the introduction of the Māori wards, Tepania said it was important to have a leader who understood the unique needs of Māori and who could ensure all councillors worked together as a team.

Far North Deputy Mayor Ann Court, Cr Kelly Stratford, Cr John Vujcich and Te Hiku Community Board member Jaqi Brown have also officially confirmed their intentions to run for Far North Mayor, whose stories, among other nominees, will be featured in the Northland Age in the weeks to come.

Coinciding with the race for mayor, 10 councillor positions will also be up for election this year- one more than previously, with four of these consisting of the new Māori ward councillors.

These changes were adopted following an FNDC representation review undertaken in 2021, which introduced a new Māori ward- Ngā Tai o Tokerau- where four councillors will be elected at large by voters on the Māori electoral roll.

In recognition of substantial growth in the Waipapa area, a new community board subdivision was also created in the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Ward.

The way electors select candidates will also be different, with the introduction of Single Transferable Voting, or STV, to elect representatives.

STV is a proportional system where voters rank candidates in order of preference and Voters can select multiple candidates with their most preferred marked as 1 and their next preference marked as 2 and so on.

The previous First Past the Post (FPP) system allowed voters to pick only one candidate for each position.

In all, 30 elected positions are up for selection: the mayoralty, 10 council seats and 19 community board positions.

To be eligible to stand, a candidate must be:

• A New Zealand citizen

• Enrolled as a parliamentary elector anywhere in New Zealand, either on the general or Māori electoral roll (regardless of the ward being nominated for)

• Nominated by two electors on the electoral roll in the area the candidate intends standing in.

The council will be holding a series of information evenings to help answer questions for potential candidates intending to submit nominations.

The sessions will be held in Kaitāia, Kawakawa and Kaikohe between July 25 and August 3 and will detail the election process, what elected representatives do, the pay, and what happens if candidates are elected.

A live online event will also be held tomorrow from 5pm featuring a panel discussion with community leaders and election experts discussing the election process.

All Far North residents, and anyone who owns a property in the district, will receive voting papers on September 16, with the postal vote closing on Saturday, October 8.

Anyone wanting to stand in the local government elections later this year has one month to get their nominations in, with the nomination period opening last Friday and closing at midday on Friday, August 12.

To find out more about the candidate evenings, or to pose a question to the online panel, go to the Candidate information page on the FNDC website.