Mark Rex Bell-Booth was Mayor of Palmerston North for one term, from 2001 to 2004.

[4] He made headlines when it became known that he lent his wife's car to a known gang member.

His time at the council was described by a political commentator as being more akin to that of a chief executive than a mayor.

[5] He contested the mayoralty again in the 2010 local elections and came a distant second against incumbent Jono Naylor, with 2,229 votes against 16,717.

[6][7] From 2004 to 2008 Bell-Booth was chief executive of Assetta, a software development company.