Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says he is in for a full term. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown made headlines after saying he might hand over the mayoralty to his deputy before his three-year term was up, in a pre-election media interview.
Brown quickly backtracked, telling RNZ he had every intention of serving a full second term. He said his comments were a "hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question".
The Local Government Act 2002, which sets out the rules all local authorities must follow, states that if a mayor is away, the deputy mayor fills in.
"The deputy mayor or deputy chairperson must perform all the responsibilities and duties, and may exercise all the powers, of the mayor or chairperson,-
- With the consent of the mayor or chairperson, at any time during the temporary absence of the mayor or chairperson:
- Without that consent, at any time while the mayor or chairperson is prevented by illness or other cause from performing the responsibilities and duties, or exercising the powers, of his or her office:
- While there is a vacancy in the office of the mayor or chairperson."
However, if the mayor resigns or is unable to complete their term for another reason, such as passing away, that would create what is known as an extraordinary vacancy.
According to the Local Electoral Act 2001, if a mayoral vacancy occurs less than 12 months out from local body elections, a member of the council must nominate another member to be mayor. If there are no other nominations, or a majority of councillors support that nomination, the member will be mayor for the rest of the term.
Otherwise, a by-election would be held, and constituents would have to vote for a mayor.
The deputy mayor would cover mayoral duties until someone was elected. The deputy mayor's councillor seat would remain with them during that time.
A mayor cannot simply hand over the mayoralty to their deputy but in theory they can step down less than 12 months before elections. A councillor could nominate the deputy to be mayor for the rest of the term.
If there were more than 12 months of a term left and a deputy mayor wanted to become mayor for that time, they would need to stand in the by-election against any other challengers.
However, there is no definition of the word 'temporary' stated in the Local Government Act, in regards to how long a mayor can 'cover' for the mayor if they are away. Although attendance records of elected officials are public, so people would know if the mayor was regularly missing meetings.
Councillors cannot remove a mayor, but can (and have in the past) undertake a 'vote of no confidence' in a mayor if they collectively believe them to be unfit to serve.
This in itself would not oust a mayor, but it could spur the central government to replace the mayor and their council with commissioners if they believed it necessary.
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