Daran Mark Ponter[1] (born 20 February 1968) is a New Zealand local-body politician who on the 30th of October 2019 succeeded Chris Laidlaw as the chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Before politics he worked as a regional planner in the Bay of Plenty and public policy adviser in various ministries in Wellington, most notably Te Puni Kōkiri.

Ponter first stood for office in 1998 where he unsuccessfully contested a seat on the Wellington Regional Council as part of the Labour Party ticket.

However he was appointed a council member again in April 2016 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of former chairperson Fran Wilde.

[7] In May 2020, the regional council confirmed all fares would be fully subsidised until the end of June, making all train and bus journeys free.