The mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform civic duties".

[3] The mayor is directly elected, using the single transferable vote (STV) system from 2007.

[4] The current mayor is Jules Radich who was elected in 2022.

[10] Since the 1935 mayoral election, the term has been three years.

[11] The city council translates the office and title of mayor as Te Koromatua o Ōtepoti.