Hamilton mayor-elect Tim Macindoe. Photo / Tom Eley
It’s time for “tighter financial management” and a focus on core services, Hamilton’s mayor-elect Tim Macindoe says.
According to preliminary results, Macindoe received 17,848 votes, and closest rival Sarah Thomson received 9768.
The checking and counting of special votes is expected to be completed tomorrow, after which the final results will be published.
“I’m deeply grateful for the support I have received and honoured to be in this position,” Macindoe shared on social media.
“My warmest congratulations to all successful candidates. I look forward to working constructively with you all for the benefit of our city, residents and ratepayers.
“To defeated colleagues and unsuccessful candidates, I extend commiserations and best wishes. It was a demanding campaign and (as one former councillor commented to me) it’s a brutal job application process. Thank you for your commitment to our city. I have known the disappointment of election defeats and wish you all well.
“And to my fellow mayoral candidates, especially Sarah Thomson, Maria Te Aukaha Huata, and Rachel Karalus, thank you for a spirited, respectful, issues-focused campaign for the top job. We now have an opportunity to put our collective goals and energies to work for the betterment of our city and I look forward to doing that.”
Macindoe said he was “absolutely elated” by the result, which follows former Mayor Paula Southgate’s decision not to stand for re-election.
He told the Waikato Herald that, while he respected Southgate and the previous councillors, it was time for a new approach: “Tighter financial management of our city and a much stronger focus on delivering core services well.”
He pledged to ensure public money was not wasted and to keep future rates rises under control.
He said his experience in central government would allow him to work with people who disagreed with him.
Thomson has conceded defeat, saying on social media: “Unfortunately, I won’t be the city’s new mayor. However, I’m delighted to be back as your West Ward councillor and ready to hit the ground running.
“Congratulations to Tim Macindoe for Mayor of Hamilton for his win!”
More than 5500 ordinary votes were cast in Hamilton on Saturday, the Hamilton City Council said in a statement.
“Saturday’s large voter turnout is expected to change the final standings.”
Macindoe also stood as a candidate in the East Ward and received enough votes to be re-elected.
“If Mr Macindoe is confirmed as mayor, then the standings in the East Ward will have to be recalculated under the STV voting system,” the council said.
Macindoe is a former Hamilton West MP who served in Parliament from 2008 to 2020, including a stint as Minister of Customs and Chief Government Whip under the National Government.
He was elected as a Hamilton East Ward councillor in the 2024 byelection that was triggered by former councillor Ryan Hamilton being elected as Member of Parliament and resigning from his council position.
According to preliminary results in the East Ward, Macindoe, Karalus, Anna Casey-Cox, Andrew Bydder, Jamie Strange and Leo Liu have been provisionally elected.
In the West Ward, Geoff Taylor, Thomson, Graeme Mead, Mesh Macdonald, Angela O’Leary and Emma Pike have been provisionally elected.
Huata and Robbie Neha have been elected as Kirikiriroa Māori Ward councillors.
Preliminary results for the Māori Ward poll show Hamiltonians voted to retain the Kirikiriroa Māori Ward.
As of Saturday, 36,768 votes had been received, the council said, which is a voter turnout of 31.9%, with special votes still to be counted.
This is up from the last local election in 2022, when 29.4% voted.
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.