Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick on what to expect from her first 100 days in council

Steve Chadwick is mayor of Rotorua again. She stands alongside re-elected councillor and deputy mayor Dave Donaldson. Photo / Stephen Parker

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick is going to hit the ground running. First elected as mayor in 2013, Chadwick was re-elected in 2016 and has come out on top once again in 2019. She talks to Zizi Sparks about what she hopes her first 100 days of her new term in office may hold.

Newly re-elected Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick plans to turn the sod at the Lakefront in her first days as mayor.

Chadwick is taking tomorrow off but has big plans for the next few weeks.

This will be Chadwick's third term as mayor and she told the Rotorua Daily Post about her plans for her first 100 days.

"I'll meet all the councillors together, the community board members. We have good lakes and rural community boards."

Before the election Chadwick said she would develop a housing plan. She said she had already begun work on that.

Steve Chadwick celebrating her re-election. Photo / Stephen Parker

"That will really gain momentum in the next two weeks ... We're asking for partnership with central government.

"We heard the issues during the campaign about housing and homeless. They were all issues we're working on and we're going to continue with an even more focused group."

She said she'd also get rid of councillor portfolios.

"We're going to start work on the big projects that are already under way and they are going to need project leaders."

One of those big projects is the redevelopment of the Rotorua Lakefront, with the sod turning set down for Tuesday - her first official job as mayor.

"That's really a symbol of Rotorua. It's about a place for us as locals. We're an iconic destination and we had to continue to invest in tourism or we'd lose ground.

"If we lose ground on tourism what's our future?"

Chadwick also hoped to focus on rebuilding relationships with Te Arawa and Te Tatau and the rural sector and ratepayer groups in her first 100 days.

"There's room to strengthen relationships."

Progress results on Saturday put Chadwick with 7796 votes ahead of Reynold Macpherson with 5837, Rob Kent 2330 and Dennis Curtis with 2181.

This result was based on the counting of approximately 95 per cent of the returned votes.

Chadwick was first elected to the Rotorua District Council in 1996 as a councillor before being elected to Parliament, where she stayed for 12 years, nine years as Rotorua's MP. She then stood for mayor and won in 2013.