Paula Southgate


Paula Southgate is the incumbent Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand. She began her term on 24 October 2019.

Early life

Southgate was born in 1963 or 1964 and attended Hamilton Girls' High School and the University of Waikato.

Local government

Southgate served as a councillor on the Waikato Regional Council from 2001 to 2016. In 2013 she was elected to be the council chair over Bob Simcock, with the support of eight out of fourteen councillors.
Southgate ran for mayor in the 2016 election 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. However, she was elected as a city councillor from the East ward. In 2019, she did not run for a councillor position but won the mayoralty with 33.74% of the vote and a majority of 3,137 votes over King. She plans to nominate Geoff Taylor as her deputy mayor.

Personal life

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