Mayor of Rangitikei facts for kids

The Mayor of Rangitikei is the main leader of the Rangitikei District Council in New Zealand. This important job was created in 1989. It happened when the Rangitikei District was formed. This was part of big changes to local government. The current mayor is Andy Watson. He has been mayor since 2013. He is from Marton.

History of Rangitikei Mayors

How the Role Started

The Rangitikei District began in 1989. This was part of changes to how local areas were run. These changes helped create new councils and mayor roles.

Past Mayors and Elections

In 2001, Bob Buchanan became mayor. He had not been a councillor or deputy mayor before. But he was elected anyway! He was chosen again in 2004. Buchanan decided to retire from his job in 2007.

Robert "Chalky" Leary became mayor in 2007. He had been a councillor for the Hunterville area since 2001. Leary won with 1,639 votes. This was 31.0% of all the votes. He won by 233 votes more than Andy Watson. Leary was re-elected in 2010. No one else ran against him that year.

The 2013 election was exciting. Mayor Leary faced challenges from Andy Watson. Maree Brannigan and Richard Aslett also ran. Watson won with 1,983 votes. This was 41.5% of the total votes. He beat Mayor Leary by 486 votes.

Our Current Mayor

Andy Watson also won the election in 2016. He was re-elected in 2019 without anyone running against him. He won again in 2022. He is still the mayor today.

Who Has Been Mayor?

Here is a list of the people who have been Mayor of Rangitikei:

See also

• Rangitikei District Council
• 2016 Rangitikei mayoral election
• Mayor of Manawatu
• Mayor of Wanganui