Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island.

[1] In the 1989 local government reforms, Nelson City Council was constituted a territorial authority within the Nelson-Marlborough Region.

The current mayor of Nelson is Nick Smith.

Nelson City councillors for the 2022–2025 term are:[2] Environmental programmes undertaken by the council include Nelson Nature and Project Maitai.

In 2019, the Council declared climate change an emergency situation.