Kerry Prendergast

Kerry Prendergast
33rd Mayor of Wellington City
In office 2001–2010
Preceded by	Mark Blumsky
Succeeded by	Celia Wade-Brown
Personal details
Born	(1953-03-28) 28 March 1953
Political party	National

Kerry Leigh Prendergast (née Ferrier), CNZM (born 28 March 1953) was the 33rd Mayor of Wellington City between 2001 and 2010, succeeding Mark Blumsky. She was the second woman to hold the position, after Fran Wilde.

Early life

Prendergast grew up in Tawa and attended Tawa College, where she was captain of the college netball team.^[1] She qualified as a registered nurse and then trained as a midwife. She has also been a voluntary grief counsellor.^[1] She holds a MBA degree from Victoria University of Wellington.

Local body politics

Prendergast started her political life as a Tawa Borough councillor in 1986. In 1989 she was elected to Wellington City Council and was re-elected every three years until 2010. In 1995 Prendergast became Deputy Mayor to Mark Blumsky.

In the 1999 general election Prendergast stood as a National list candidate, ranked 30th on the party's list. However, the National Party did not gain enough of the party vote for Prendergast to enter Parliament. She considered running again at the 2002 election, but in 2001 Mark Blumsky announced his intention not to run for the mayoralty again, and endorsed Prendergast's mayoralty candidacy.

Prendergast was elected mayor in 2001 and re-elected in 2004 and 2007. During her time as Mayor, Prendergast instigated the policy of making Wellington the "Creative Capital". She has endorsed changing the Flag of New Zealand.^[2]

In the Wellington City mayoral election, 2010, Prendergast was challenged by Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand city councillor Celia Wade-Brown for the Wellington mayoralty. After the counting of special votes, Wade-Brown was declared the winner by a one hundred and seventy six vote margin, ending nearly a decade of Prendergast's mayoralty.^[3]

Other roles

In 2011 she became chair of the Environmental Protection Authority and of the Tourism Board. She is on the board of Kirkaldie and Stains Ltd, WorkSafe NZ, Phoenix Football Club, and is on several advisory boards.^[4][5][6]

Prendergast was Vice President of Local Government New Zealand and a trustee of the Joe Aspell Trust during her time as Mayor. She has been executive chair of the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts since 2011. She was a director of Wellington International Airport Limited and the Wellington Region Association of Midwives until 2010. She is an honorary life member of the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Society and of Plunket.

In 2015 Prendergast accepted the role of ambassador for Alzheimer's New Zealand, having had personal experience of the disease - both her late father Denis and her mother Beverley Ferrier suffered the disease.^[7]

Recognition

In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, Prendergast was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to local body affairs.^[8] In 2014, she received the New Zealand Women of Influence Award in the Local and Regional category.^[9]

Personal life

Prendergast is married and has two daughters. Her son, Andrew, was killed on 31 March 2011 in a riding accident.^[10]

References

External links

• Kerry Prendergast in 2000 next to mayor Mark Blumsky (photo)
• Campaign page at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 March 2005) from 2005
• Wellington City Council – Mayor Prendergast
• Farewell statement from Wellington City Council
• Profile at City Mayors

Mayors of Wellington City
Mayors	elected by councillors George Hunter William Guyton Joseph Dransfield Charles Borlase William Sefton Moorhouse elected at large William Hutchison Joseph Dransfield George Allen William Hutchison George Fisher Arthur Winton Brown Samuel Brown John Duthie Charles Johnston Arthur Winton Brown Francis Bell Alfred Brandon Charles Luke George Fisher Francis Bell John Blair John Aitken Thomas William Hislop Alfred Newman Thomas Wilford David McLaren John Luke Robert Wright Charles Norwood George Troup Thomas Hislop Will Appleton Rob Macalister Frank Kitts Michael Fowler Ian Lawrence James Belich Fran Wilde Mark Blumsky Kerry Prendergast Celia Wade-Brown Justin Lester
Mayoral elections	Annual term 1875 1876† 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 Biennial term 1899 1901 1903† 1905 1907 1909 1910‡ 1911† 1912‡ 1913 1915 1917† 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933† Triennial term 1935 1938 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016
† Elected unopposed · ‡ By-election