Paula Anne Southgate is a New Zealand politician. She has held several positions in local government since 2001. In October 2019 she was elected the

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 ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and was re-elected in October 2022.

Early life

Southgate was born in 1963 or 1964 to Margaret Southgate and attended

Hamilton Girls' High School Hamilton Girls' High School (Māori: ''Te Kura Tamaahine o Kirikiriroa'') is a state single sex secondary school located in central Hamilton, New Zealand. The school caters for students in Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18). History Hamilton High ...

and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

. She worked as a teacher, a counsellor in the mental health sector, and served on two school boards of trustees.

Local government

Southgate served as a councillor on the

Waikato Regional Council The Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City, as well as ...

from 2001 to 2016. In 2013 she was elected to be the council chair over

Bob Simcock Robert Malcolm Simcock (born 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2002 and Mayor of Hamilton from 2007 to 2010. Early career Simcock attended St John's College before graduating ...

, with the support of eight out of fourteen councillors. Southgate ran to be mayor of Hamilton and a Hamilton City Councillor in the 2016 local elections but lost to Andrew King. The election was close, with an election-day margin of nine votes reduced to six votes after a

judicial recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

. However, she was elected as a city councillor from the East ward. In the 2019 local elections, although Southgate did not run for a councillor position, she did win the mayoralty with 33.74% of the vote and a majority of 3,137 votes over King, who had proposed renaming Hamilton to Kirikiriroa in spite of public opinion. Geoff Taylor was appointed as her deputy mayor. Southgate sought and won a second mayoral term in the 2022 Hamilton mayoral election. On 12 January 2025, Southgate confirmed that she would not be running for a third mayoral term during the

2025 New Zealand local elections The 2025 New Zealand local elections () are upcoming triennial elections that will be held from 9 September until 11 October 2025 to elect local mayors and councillors, regional councillors, and members of local boards. All 11 of New Zeala ...

Personal life

Southgate is married to Greg Forsyth and has two daughters and a stepson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southgate, Paula 1960s births Living people 21st-century mayors of places in New Zealand Mayors of Hamilton, New Zealand People educated at Hamilton Girls' High School University of Waikato alumni