2022 Napier mayoral election

The 2022 Napier mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of Napier as part of the 2022 New Zealand local elections and 2022 Hawke's Bay local elections. The election took place on 8 October 2022 for the 2022–2025 term. It saw incumbent first-term mayor Kirsten Wise stand against first-term councillor Nigel Simpson.

Background
First-term mayor Kirsten Wise stood for re-election. Wise in an interview for NZHerald said she was concerned about housing in the region, water infrastructure, and community-to-council interactions. Kirsten had previously been a councillor for two terms. Wise aligned herself with the National Party in the same interview saying she would go with them if she ran for government, and that Three Waters "would be a huge step backwards".

Wise had faced several challenges as mayor during her first term, including the 2019 Napier flood and the COVID-19 pandemic.

First-term councillor for Taradale ward Nigel Simpson stood on the platform of change, as in his view "A significant number of opportunities [had] been missed". Simpson described himself as "more liberal" and said he tended to be "somewhere between National and ACT".

Since the previous triennial election, 2 council chief executives had resigned. According to RNZ, the council was divided on whether there were culture and leadership issues within the organisation.

Controversy around Three Waters was a key issue in the lead up to the election. Three Waters refers to the three types of water requiring public management (namely stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater). The Sixth Labour Government had pushed a policy of centralising management of Three Waters, taking the power away from councils which many viewed as failing the task. Wise had previously mounted a campaign with other mayors in Hawke's Bay against central government policy amid concerns that locals had not been properly consulted. Wise later admitted to confusing the numbers of the government's policy, claiming it was only a third of the funding the NCC was going to put towards the issue.

There was also the issue of gang violence which Wise said she was "very concerned" about.

Declared

 * Nigel Simpson (Independent), first term councillor for the Taradale ward.
 * John C Smith, anti-vaxxer and anti-fluoride candidate.
 * Kirsten Wise (Independent), incumbent mayor.