North Shore City - Local Government

Local Government

The city was run by a 15 member council (North Shore City Council) and mayor, democratically elected every three years using the First Past The Post voting system. The last mayor was Andrew Williams. The mayor was a strong critic of the 'Super City' proposals which would see North Shore City amalgamated into a larger Auckland authority. Mayor Williams voiced strong opposition to Transit New Zealand's delays regarding bus lanes. He was a proponent of the $300 million joint busway venture. While the Auckland Regional Council has power to impose property tax rates on suburban areas such as North Shore City, local residents have voiced strong opposition. There is a pattern of conflict between local authorities and Auckland city officials regarding many matters, such as transportation, land purchases and decay of wharf facilities. The issue of whether Auckland should be a single city, or a collection of autonomous cities, has been a subject of debate in recent years.

For the purposes of general elections, the city contained three whole electorates, being Northcote, North Shore and East Coast Bays. The electorate of Helensville also takes in portions of the northwest of the city. Politically the city tends to lean to the right: all electorates except Northcote are considered safe National Party seats. Northcote meanwhile is considered a bellwether seat, swinging left and right with the nation as a whole.