Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Councillor John Cronin bows out after 31 years of service

Leah Tebbutt
By Leah Tebbutt
Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
12 Oct, 2019 12:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

John Cronin is bowing out of council after more than 30 years of service. Photo / Leah Tebbutt

John Cronin is bowing out of council after more than 30 years of service. Photo / Leah Tebbutt

Local elections 2019

It was a career he fell into by mistake and now after more than 30 years he is saying goodbye. Time spent in council chambers was much more alluring than his trained profession as an accountant and, with the community at heart, he knew it was the best place for him. But after all this time has he achieved everything he set out to? John Cronin talks to journalist Leah Tebbutt about the highlights of his long career - and the reason he is closing the door on 31 years of service.
"I just wanted to do something for the underprivileged."

These are the words of John Cronin, who is bowing out after 31 years serving Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty in local government.

It's a move that's been a few years in the making - but Cronin could not retire without seeing the project he calls his "big success" completed.

One of his proudest achievements in his long career is his role in getting the University of Waikato's Tauranga campus under way - a feat he says was motivated by his upbringing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I came up from a poorer economic background. So, of course, I am interested in giving the underprivileged a chance because I was one of them.

"Education should not be for the wealthy few, it should be for everybody. That is what I was attempting to do and we reasonably achieved those aims."

He helped establish the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's contestable Regional Infrastructure Fund, which saw $15 million invested into the campus' development.

Cronin planned to retire a few years back, but with the university still not completed, he stayed on for another term.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
John Cronin credits his wife Glenys to his success for keeping the family running while he pursued his career. Photo / File
John Cronin credits his wife Glenys to his success for keeping the family running while he pursued his career. Photo / File

In total, he served four terms as chairman of the regional council and many other years as a councillor on both the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council.

It's a long public service career for a man who never intended to become a politician.

Discover more

'Normalised negativity': When did local body elections get so nasty?

04 Oct 11:00 PM

'Don't lie': Sparks fly at final mayoral debate

03 Oct 05:32 AM
New Zealand

'Road rage': Council candidate admits assaulting elderly woman

04 Oct 04:08 PM

Lagging voter turnout prompts online voting call

08 Oct 05:00 PM

It all began in 1985 when two Tauranga City councillors resigned and Cronin was headhunted for his accounting knowledge.

"I then had a sense of obligation to stand for council again and as they say, the rest is history."

He also played a part in creating "seamless pathways" to ensure students at the polytechnics around the region would be able to complete a master's degree without having to start afresh.

He was chairman of the transport committee when he reintroduced public transport. Although he said people opposed it at the time, he knew it was the best way to get access to central government roading funds.

Other significant moments in his career were the Matatā and Rena disasters. He was immensely proud seeing how councils and other stakeholders worked together to support the community.

"You could actually do something and make a difference. You could improve things and you had budgets to do it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But now it is time to go out, there have to be young people coming in. You get stale and a lot of the things I have seen before, in one shape or other."

Cronin's seat on the regional council will be taken by Stacey Rose, 20, who has been elected unopposed.

Councillor Paula Thompson said Cronin had a remarkable career due to his "incredible strategic thinking and innovative way of doing things".

"I think the Bay of Plenty has a lot to thank John for.

"To be elected so many times by his colleagues says something about who he was."

Having served alongside him on both the Tauranga City Council and the regional council, Stuart Crosby said Cronin added "tremendous" value to any debate.

"For councillors like John that have been there a long time, they develop a lot of experience and wisdom which you cannot just develop, so he will be missed."

Highlights of John Cronin's career
• Development of harbour bridges
• Waikareao Estuary expressway
• Eastern Arterial
• Elected to the board of Local Government New Zealand with settlement and Treaty claims and climate change portfolios

Time served at Tauranga City Council
• Chairman of operations and finance 1986-1989
• Chairman of park and reserves and finance 1989-1992
• Chairman of works and finance 1992-1995

Time served at Bay of Plenty Council
• Chairman of transport 1998-2001
• Chairman of full council 2001-2014
• Chairman of audit and risk 2014-2020

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM

A family wanted to be left alone to develop their land without council interference.

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP