Stuart Alan Crosby

ONZM The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

(born 1956) is a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of the city of

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

, New Zealand from 2004 to 2016.

Early life

Crosby's family moved from Gisborne to

Papamoa Papamoa or Papamoa Beach is a suburb of Tauranga, located about 11 kilometres from the city centre. It is the largest residential suburb in Tauranga. It is bordered to the west by Arataki and Mount Maunganui (east of Sunrise Avenue and Hibiscu ...

in 1966, where they started the Papamoa Beach Resort Holiday Park. After finishing high school, Crosby took up an apprenticeship with the Tauranga Electric Power Board, which later became

Trustpower Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is Renewable energy, renewable. Mercury has a p ...

. He travelled and worked overseas from 1978 to 1981; after returning to Tauranga he owned Papamoa Electrical Services and Accolade Homes.

Political career

Crosby stood for and was elected to the Papamoa Community Council, which was part of the Tauranga Borough Council, in 1986. Crosby was 30 at the time, which was considered young for a councillor. The

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...

saw a merger of local authorities, resulting in the establishment of the Tauranga District Council (renamed

Tauranga City Council Tauranga City Council is the Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority for the List of cities in New Zealand, city of Tauranga, New Zealand. The council consists of nine councillors, each elected from one of nine wards, and ...

in 2003). Crosby was elected to Tauranga District Council in 1989 and was re-elected every three years thereafter. Crosby was deputy mayor to Noel Pope from 1998 to 2001. After Pope's retirement, Crosby sought the mayoralty but was defeated at the 2001 local elections by Jan Beange. In 2004, Crosby defeated Beange and began what would become a twelve-year period as mayor. Crosby did not recontest the mayoralty in 2016. Instead, he successfully sought election to the

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Bay of Plenty Regional Council () is the administrative body responsible for overseeing regional land use, environmental management and civil defence in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It was founded as part of the 1989 N ...

, representing the Tauranga constituency. In 2019, he was elected unopposed. In August 2020, Crosby was elected as the president of

Local Government New Zealand Local Government New Zealand Te Kahui Kaunihera ō Aotearoa (LGNZ) is the local government association of New Zealand. It represents the interests of the regional, city, and district councils in New Zealand. History The Association was for ...

, the national association of councils in New Zealand, succeeding former Dunedin mayor

Dave Cull David Charles Cull (1 April 1950 – 27 April 2021) was the mayor of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. He became the 57th Mayor of Dunedin in October 2010 and was re-elected in both the 2013 mayoralty race and 2016 mayoral election. Before ...

. Crosby had previously served as Cull's vice-president.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby, Stuart Living people Tauranga City Councillors Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand Mayors of Tauranga Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit 1956 births