Richard Brian Hills (born ) is an

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

lor who was elected at the 2016 Auckland elections. He is Auckland's youngest current councillor, the first openly gay Auckland Councillor and one of two

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

iwi members. He has been an advocate for more investment in local youth and secured a youth centre in Glenfield.

Political career

Hills is a member of the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

. At the 2011 general election he stood in

Hunua Hunua () is a small settlement in the rural outskirts of south Auckland, New Zealand. Hunua is east of Papakura, from Hunua Falls and lies at the foot of the Hunua Ranges, from where Auckland obtains most of its water supply. The literal tran ...

and was ranked 50th on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

. Hills finished second in Hunua, which is regarded as a safe National seat, behind incumbent

Paul Hutchison Charles Paul Telford Hutchison, known as Paul Hutchison (born 1947) is a New Zealand politician and former health professional. He is a member of the National Party, which he represented in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2014. Earl ...

. At the 2013 Auckland elections, Hills was elected to the Kaipatiki Local Board. Hills stood in Northcote at the 2014 general election, finishing second behind incumbent Jonathan Coleman. He was ranked 47th on the Labour party list. In April 2018 Hills put his name forward for the Labour nomination in the Northcote by-election following Coleman's resignation. Hills failed to win the nomination and instead

Shanan Halbert Shanan Kiritea Halbert (born 1982) is a New Zealand politician. As of 2020 he is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. Early life and career Halbert has affiliation to Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Whitikaupek ...

was selected to contest the Northcote seat for Labour.

Auckland Council

At the 2016 Auckland elections, Hills stood for the

, aiming to replace George Wood as a councillor for the North Shore ward. With 12,651 votes, he finished second after incumbent

Chris Darby Chris Darby is an Auckland Councillor for the North Shore Ward and the chair of the Planning Committee. He is focused on public transport, urban regeneration and environmental issues. He is a progressive independent who is not affiliated to any p ...

in the two-person ward and was elected. His majority over the third placed candidate,

Grant Gillon Grant Gillon is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of parliament between 1996 and 2002, representing the Alliance Party, has held a number of seats in local government. He previously served on the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board ...

, was only 128. Hills had campaigned alongside Darby during the campaign. Hills has been a champion for more affordable public transport in Auckland. Hills was also re-elected to the Kaipātiki Local Board but was automatically excluded following his election as a councillor. He ranked first with 13,026 votes. At the 2019 local body elections, Hills was re-elected as one of the two North Shore Ward councillors, to serve for the 2019–2022 term. Hills was considering running for mayor in the

2022 Auckland mayoral election The 2022 Auckland mayoral election will be held on 8 October 2022 to determine the Mayor of Auckland, as part of the 2022 New Zealand local elections. The incumbent mayor since 2016, Phil Goff, has announced he will not seek re-election. Campaig ...

, however in February 2022 he announced he would instead run for re-election in the North Shore ward. Hills was re-elected to the Auckland Council in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Richard 1980s births Living people Auckland Councillors Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election New Zealand Labour Party politicians LGBT politicians from New Zealand Gay politicians Māori politicians Ngāpuhi people