Mayor of Rangitikei facts for kids

The mayor of Rangitikei is the main leader of the Rangitikei District Council in New Zealand. This council helps manage the Rangitikei area. The job of mayor was created in 1989. This happened when the Rangitikei District was formed as part of big changes to local government. Since 2013, the mayor has been Andy Watson, who is from Marton.

History of Rangitikei Mayors

The Rangitikei District was officially set up in 1989. This was part of a large plan to change how local councils worked across New Zealand.

Early Mayors and Elections

In 2001, Bob Buchanan was elected as mayor. He had not been a councillor or deputy mayor before this. He was re-elected for a second term in 2004. Bob Buchanan retired from his role as mayor in 2007.

Robert "Chalky" Leary became mayor in 2007. He had been a councillor for the Hunterville area since 2001. Leary won the election with 1,639 votes. This was 31% of all the votes. He had 233 more votes than Andy Watson, who was a councillor for Marton. Chalky Leary was re-elected in 2010 without anyone running against him.

Andy Watson's Time as Mayor

The 2013 Rangitikei mayoral election had a few candidates. The current mayor, Chalky Leary, was challenged by Andy Watson. Maree Brannigan and Richard Aslett also ran for the position. Andy Watson won this election. He received 1,983 votes, which was 41.5% of the total. He won by 486 votes over Chalky Leary, who received 1,497 votes.

Andy Watson also won the election in 2016. He was re-elected again in 2019 without any opponents. He won his most recent election in 2022. As of July 2025, Andy Watson is still the mayor of Rangitikei.

List of Rangitikei Mayors

This list shows the people who have been mayors of Rangitikei:

See also

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