Kaipara and Whangārei mayoral elections 2025

The story so far

Whangārei and Kaipara mayoral races were too close to call after the first results, with gaps of 67 and 74 votes.^{12 Oct 2025} In Kaipara, a three-way race between Jonathan Larsen, Snow Tane and Jason Smith was separated by only 31 votes in preliminary counts.^{12 Oct 2025} Outgoing Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson called an emergency council meeting seeking a judicial review into election conduct, and councillors later voted to lodge a complaint with the Department of Internal Affairs.^{16, 17 Oct 2025} Jonathan Larsen was declared the Kaipara mayor by 21 votes over Snow Tane, while Ken Couper won the Whangārei mayoralty by 435 votes over incumbent Vince Cocurullo.^{17 Oct 2025} Tane applied for a judicial recount, but a judge dismissed the challenge, and later court documents showed more than 60 per cent of special votes had been disallowed.^{20, 24 Oct 2025; 3 Nov 2025}

Latest

A judge dismissed the Kaipara recount bid after finding no irregularities, and court documents showed more than 60 per cent of special votes were disallowed.^{24 Oct 2025; 3 Nov 2025} Tane has criticised the voting process for disenfranchising many voters.^{3 Nov 2025}

Key moments

1. 12 Oct 2025Whangārei and Kaipara mayoral races too close to call after first results
2. 16 Oct 2025Kaipara mayor calls unprecedented emergency meeting over alleged irregularities
3. 17 Oct 2025Councillors vote in secret meeting to lodge election process complaint
4. 17 Oct 2025Jonathan Larsen elected Kaipara mayor by 21 votes
5. 17 Oct 2025Ken Couper elected Whangārei mayor, defeating incumbent by 435 votes
6. 20 Oct 2025Snow Tane applies for judicial recount in Kaipara mayoral election
7. 24 Oct 2025Judge dismisses recount challenge for Kaipara mayoral election
8. 3 Nov 2025Court documents show over 60 per cent of special votes disallowed

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.