Rotorua mayoral candidates Don Paterson (left), Robert Lee and Tania Tapsell. Photo / Michelle Cutelli
The race to become Rotorua’s next mayor picked up this week with candidates participating in the first debate ahead of October’s elections.
Incumbent Tania Tapsell enjoyed the biggest audience support at the 2025 Mayoral Forum event on Thursday night, hosted by Rotorua Business Chamber and open to the public.
Councillor Don Paterson emerged as Tapsell’s strongest challenger on the night ahead of councillor Robert Lee, based on audience voting.
Mayoral candidates Haehaetu Barrett and Shakaina Fraser did not participate in the event at the Novotel Hotel in the city centre.
Current councillors, council staff and candidates were among the 124 people in attendance.
Topics largely related to the business chamber’s vision for Rotorua.
“I have a deep connection to this rohe which drives my passion for protecting Rotorua’s natural wonders and unique culture,” said Paterson in his main address. “While working to restore our city’s place as a premier global visitor destination, I will also rejuvenate our economy and restore our CBD.”
Lee outlined his support for a rates cap, while also signalling his intent to ensure the council acts lawfully, prioritises democratic decision-making and spends wisely.
“I believe our council has got into some bad spending habits and needs to be reset with a new level of financial discipline,” he said.
Tapsell said her track record over the past three years included the reduction of emergency housing motels, increased community policing, the museum rebuild and tourism recovery.
“I am really proud of the progress that we have made,” she said, praising the current councillors.
“I think some of the things we’ve had to deal with, they’ve been pretty out the gate, but it’s been fantastic to be able to do that as part of this team.”
The forum followed a question-and-answer format, with compere Mercia-Dawn Yates asking the candidates questions around four key topics: economics, infrastructure, connectivity and CBD vibrancy.
Paterson focused on local heritage, economic development, tourism, events, infrastructure, housing, safety, partnerships, fiscal discipline and city revitalisation.
“Skilled people and their families want affordable housing, safe streets, varied outdoor experiences and a thriving cultural scene,” he said.
“This is Rotorua’s edge.”
Lee’s main talking points included fiscal discipline, prioritising core infrastructure, accountability in council finances, housing policy concerns, local versus state roading responsibilities, and airport upgrades – while also taking aim at red-tape issues for local businesses.
“It should be easy to do business in Rotorua but it’s not.”
Tapsell touched on housing, community safety, infrastructure, airport connectivity, tourism, council spending, regional leadership, inner-city revitalisation, partnerships with iwi and event promotion.
“You told us you want to feel safe in the inner city and that’s what we delivered for you,” she said of her community safety record, highlighting an increase in police resource and reduced crime rates.
She also backed the Government mandate to focus on core services, and aimed to prioritise “promoting a world-class city” to attract tourists and events.
A live online voting system asked attendees who impressed them the most on the night. Tapsell came out on top, receiving a 72% share of those who voted.
Paterson received 23% of the vote and Lee 5%.
Throughout the evening, the audience also had the opportunity to rate responses candidates gave to the four sets of questions.
Tapsell was the preferred respondent for three of those, however, Paterson impressed the audience with his events-driven perspective on bringing vibrancy to the city, outscoring Tapsell.
Voting for Rotorua’s local election opens on September 9 and remains open until noon on election day, October 11.
Preliminary results will come in on the same day, with final results announced between October 16-19.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.