Michael Darren Tana (born ) is a New Zealand politician and trade union leader. He was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

from 2016 to 2019.

Early life

Tana is from

Matakohe Matakohe is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Matakohe River is a short river which runs from the north into the Arapaoa River, which is part of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 12 passes through Matakohe. Ruawai is 16 km to ...

, near Ruawai in the Northland region. His iwi are

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

and

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

. He has an agricultural science degree from

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

Career

He has been senior biosecurity adviser at the

Ministry for Primary Industries The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing and regulating the farming, fishing, food, animal welfare, biosecurity, and forestry sectors of New Zealand's primary ...

, and the president of the 62,000-strong

Public Service Association The Public Service Association (), or PSA, is a democratic trade union with over workers in the New Zealand public sector. The stated aims of the PSA are to provide support for public and not-for-profit community services, support worker voic ...

Career in politics

He announced in August 2016 that he would be running for Mayor of Porirua and he ran a poorly-funded campaign. Tana won the 2016 mayoral election, receiving 5,887 votes (after other candidates were eliminated on the STV ballot). He was the first Māori mayor of Porirua, and one of only a small number of Māori mayors in New Zealand history. Tana grew up experiencing racism, and when he was elected Mayor he joined Porirua City up to an anti-racism campaign. Tana ran for Mayor again in the 2019 local elections but failed to win re-election, instead coming in 2nd place behind

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American jazz and soul singer. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk ban ...

Personal life

Tana has six children with his wife Toni.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tana, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births Living people Ngāpuhi people Ngāti Whātua people Māori mayors Mayors of Porirua Massey University alumni People from the Northland Region New Zealand trade union leaders 21st-century New Zealand politicians