Tangi Utikere
Tangi William Edward Utikere is a New Zealand politician. He has been the deputy mayor of Palmerston North since 2016, and is the first non-European to serve in that role. He is the Labour Party candidate for the Palmerston North electorate in the 2020 general election, replacing Iain Lees-Galloway.Biography
Utikere was born and educated in Palmerston North and is of Cook Islands descent. He worked at Freyberg High School as a history teacher, and is also a Justice of the peace and marriage celebrant. He unsuccessfully contested the Labour nomination for the Palmerston North electorate following the retirement of Steve Maharey, losing to Iain Lees-Galloway. He was first elected to the Palmerston North City Council in 2010, and was re-elected in 2013. In 2015 he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor, coming second behind Grant Smith. He was re-elected to the City Council in 2016 and 2019.
On 2 June 2020, Utikere was appointed as a member of the New Zealand Criminal Cases Review Commission.
On 26 July 2020 Utikere was selected as Labour's candidate for the Palmerston North electorate following the announcement that Iain Lees-Galloway would not be standing.
