Andrew Judd

Andrew Judd
26th Mayor of New Plymouth
In office 26 October 2013 – 25 October 2016
Deputy	Heather Dodunski
Preceded by	Harry Duynhoven
Succeeded by	Neil Holdom
Majority	9,206
Councillor for New Plymouth District
In office 2007–2013
Personal details
Born	Andrew Mark Judd 1965 (age 60–61) Masterton, New Zealand
Party	Māori Party (2016)[1]
Occupation	Dispensing optician

Andrew Mark Judd (born 1965) is a New Zealand local government politician and activist who served as the mayor of New Plymouth from 2013 to 2016.

Early life

Judd was born in Masterton in 1965, the second of six children of Peter and Jennifer Judd. His father ran a menswear shop and his mother had come to New Zealand from Guernsey as a 16-year-old. Judd was educated at Makoura College.^[2][3]

Career

After leaving school Judd had a varied work history as a cloth-cutter in clothing factories, stock and station sales management cadet, home appliance retailer, and sales rep for The Radio Network, then he became a dispensing optician in New Plymouth.^[2][3]

Politics

At the 2007 local-body elections, Judd was elected to the New Plymouth District Council as the second-highest polling candidate.^[4] He was re-elected in 2010, polling in fourth place.^[5]

Judd won the mayoralty of New Plymouth from one-term incumbent Harry Duynhoven with a 9,206 vote majority in 2013^[6] and served one term before announcing he would not stand again in 2016.^[7]

Māori wards

In 2014 Judd caused controversy when he and his council supported the establishment of a Māori ward in New Plymouth in a move intended to increase Māori representation, lift iwi participation in council decision-making and fulfil Treaty of Waitangi obligations. Judd also called for all councils in New Zealand to have up to 50% Māori representation.^[8] The proposals were widely criticised by politicians and the media, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters calling arguments for the ward "childish nonsense" ^[8] and right-wing media personality Mike Hosking labelling Judd "completely out of touch with middle New Zealand".^[8] In the months following, a publicly initiated referendum on the creation of a Māori ward, which Judd lost in a landslide, the mayor spoke to media about "a man in a Nazi uniform" coming to see him, getting removed as a patron of a club, being abused walking down the street in a Santa parade and being spat on whilst out with family at a local supermarket.^[9] Judd, a New Zealand European, labels himself a "recovering racist".^[10]

However, Judd gained the admiration and recognition of political figures, including MP Marama Fox who called for his critics to apologise in a general debate speech before parliament.^[11] Support for Judd also flowed on social media, with a Facebook group named "Andrew Judd Fan Club" reaching 10,500 members.^[12]

Subsequently, in the region of Taranaki in 2020 the South Taranaki District Council, the New Plymouth District Council voted to establish a ward, in 2021, the Taranaki Regional Council and the Stratford District Council also voted in favour of a Māori ward.^[13] Judd spoke out against the National-led Government in 2024 changing a law from the previous Government which will force referendum on many councils in 2025. He said: "It’s taking us backwards"^[13] Judd has stated that it was the public backlash that led him to decide not to stand for re-election in 2016.^[14]

Spokesperson

Judd spends time fighting racism in New Zealand through speaking appearances, opinion pieces and other means.^[15] In 2024 he was one of 17 Pākehā profiled in the book Leave your big boots at the door: Pākehā confronting racism against Māori by Lorraine McLeod.^[15]

I’m Tangata Tiriti, I have a place to stand in Aotearoa thanks to the welcome offered by Tangata Whenua in 1840, yet I’d lived my entire life as though I’d just arrived from England.^[16]

References

1. Wilkinson, Jeremy (4 October 2016). "New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd's possible future in the Maori Party". Stuff. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
2. Husband, Dale (14 May 2016). "Andrew Judd: An upbringing too white by far". E-Tangata. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
3. Tucker, Jim (Spring 2016). "Judging Andrew" (PDF). Lïve. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
4. Evans, Ryan (15 October 2007). "Horse focuses on "necessities before niceties"". Taranaki Daily News. p. 1.
5. Evans, Ryan (11 October 2010). "Bublitz, Tamati in from the cold". Taranaki Daily News. p. 3.
6. "Andrew Judd elected mayor of New Plymouth". Taranaki Daily News. Stuff.co.nz. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
7. Hannah Lee (6 May 2016). "New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd announces he will not stand for re-election". Taranaki Daily News. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
8. Taryn Utiger (24 November 2014). "Mayor calls for half Maori councils". Taranaki Daily News. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
9. "'I had a man dressed in a Nazi uniform come to see me' – New Plymouth mayor won't seek re-election in wake of racial hate". Seven Sharp (ONE NEWS). Television New Zealand. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
10. "Andrew Judd: How I realised I am a recovering racist". Morganfoundation.org.nz. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
11. "Fox, Marama: General Debate – New Zealand Parliament". Parliament.nz. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
12. "Support on social media flows for New Plymouth mayor". Stuff.co.nz. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
13. Harvey, Helen (5 April 2024). "Andrew Judd promises to fight Māori ward rule reversal". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
14. Judd, Andrew (1 October 2025). "Māori wards: We're all in this together — Andrew Judd". ActionStation. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
15. Leave your big boots at the door. 2024. ISBN 9781988550640.
16. "Opinion: The phrase 'tangata tiriti' is not something that should scare us". NZ Herald. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.