"It's something that I never thought would happen this quickly. But with Ron going into Parliament an early opportunity rose to stand, and stand I did. No one else put their name forward, so I went through."
He believes determining the new governance structure is one of the major challenges facing the district, and supports the proposal of one combined council for Wairarapa.
"My preferred outcome is I'd like to see Wairarapa govern itself. I don't think for our region being run from Wellington as a super-city is the right thing at all."
Other challenges facing the council include an increasing population, the wastewater system, roading and the Wairarapa Water Use Project, Mr Booth said.
A farming man, Mr Booth's roots in the region can be traced back to the 1860s, when Alf Booth settled the Middlerun farm at Gladstone.
Alf had three sons and 10 daughters and divided the farm between his sons, one of whom was John's grandfather, Bert Booth.
Another branch of the family also ran Booth's sawmill, which processed timber for many Carterton buildings, including the library.
Mr Booth is the third mayor in the family, following in the footsteps of Alf and W.H. (Howard) Booth.
Today, Mr Booth runs his property, Mellow Rise, as a dairy support unit and also grows barley, wheat, grass seed and oats.
Combined he and his brother, Beaven, hold 220ha and graze about 500 cows during winter, although the farm is now leased with Mr Booth retaining a management role.
Educated in Masterton, he spent five years as a boarder at Rathkeale College.
Wife Julie works in Masterton as a youth health provider at Wairarapa College and the couple have three grown-up children, Sam, a Qantas 737 captain, Melanie, a primary school teacher, and Jared, a police officer.
Any spare time is either spent with his five grandchildren in Ohakune or flying - he has a private pilot's licence - or catching up with locals at The Gladstone Inn on a Wednesday night.
Remaining approachable was a priority, he said.
"For me one of the most important things as a mayor - even as a councillor - is communicating and talking to people - you learn a lot."
The friendly nature of the people in Carterton was one of the best things about the town, Mr Booth said.
"Our vision for Carterton is that it's a welcoming and vibrant community where people like to live. "The people of Carterton actually really like Carterton as it is, and I think that's what's drawn a lot of people to come and live here."
