A losing candidate is adding thousands to the price of democracy, with a recount for the Hamilton mayoralty set to cost up to $35,000.

A Hutt City councillor has beaten out her closest rival by only six votes.

Andrew King's majority has dropped again, down to just nine votes after special votes were counted. He speaks to Local Focus about his win. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

Andrew King's majority has dropped again, down to just nine votes after special votes were counted. He speaks to Local Focus about his win. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

Paula Southgate has confirmed she will seek a recount of the Hamilton mayoralty after losing to Andrew King by just nine votes.

COMMENT: A variety of radical reforms and technocratic tweaks are being proposed for fixing the problem of low voter turnout. But which of these changes are worth voting for?

Re-elected community board member faces assault charge.

A complete absence of strategic voting has given Hamilton it's most interesting mayoral election in decades. And the final two hopefuls represent very different futures for the city. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

COMMENT: Two-thirds of eligible voters chose not to vote in the local government elections. Should we be unimpressed?

John Forbes' early blunder didn't diminish his election result. And he admits his opponent Les Keane ran a good campaign after all. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

Tony Bonne believes strong marketing was behind winning the mayoralty with less votes, so he is determined to communicate better this term. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

Tracey Collis vows to hit the ground running as she steps up the challenge of Tararua District’s new mayor. Made with funding from NZ on Air.

The turnout for the Auckland Council election was profoundly disappointing. What has happened to the hopes once held for a unified, strongly led city?

New Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says he wants to stamp his own mark on the city.

Phil Goff's choice for a deputy mayor might be a dramatic break from how his predecessor ran the Super City.

Hamilton's next mayor may not be known for a few days yet.

The preliminary list of members who will serve on the Auckland region's three DHBs has been released.

He started as an outside chance, but Neil Holdom’s strong campaign won him the New Plymouth mayoralty by 500 votes. Made with funding from NZ on Air

It's fair to assume there will be a fair few sore heads as more than 20 new mayors wake up this morning.

Uninspiring election billboards have been panned by a design expert, who described them as more suited to wallpaper designs than vote-snaggers.

Now the work really starts - it's time for our new leaders to enrol in How To Be A Mayor 101 and head back to school.

Justin Lester was getting a haircut when he took the phone call telling him he had won the race to become Wellington mayor.

COMMENT: If you haven't voted in local body elections, don't beat yourself up. It shows you're smart enough to have worked out whole exercise is a joke.

The race for Hamilton's top job proved one of the tightest, with progress results suggesting the mayoralty had swung by a whisker to underdog Andrew King.

Can online voting turn around our dreadful local body election voter turnout?

Former Air NZ bosses could be installed in Auckland Council to rebuild public confidence in the failed institution, says new Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.

COMMENT: Wondering what to do with your new mayor now they've been elected? Paul Little makes some suggestions.

Congratulations to all the new mayors, councillors and members of local and community boards elected in cities and districts around the country yesterday.

Greg Brownless talks to Local Focus for the first time about winning the mayoralty and plans for Tauranga. Made with funding from NZ on Air

• North Island: Local election results AUCKLAND COUNCIL - RUAPEHU DISTRICT COUNCIL • North Island: Local election results