'I'm not business as usual,” Kohi Māori constituency councillor Toi Iti told his fellow new councillors as he spoke to his nomination to be deputy chairman of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

The newly elected council held its inaugural meeting at Te Manuka Tutahi Marae in Whakatāne on Wednesday.

After a powhiri led by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa chairman Joe Harawira and the swearing in of councillors, Doug Leeder was returned to his former position as chairman, winning 10 votes to four over Ōkurei Māori councillor Te Taru White.

The division of votes between Māori constituency voters and general constituency voters was pronounced, with new Tauranga councillor Kat MacMillan being the only general constituency councillor to vote for White alongside all three Māori constituency councillors.

Leeder said he's humbled and privileged by the support that his colleagues had given him for his continued leadership.

'I will continue to employ all the effort, passion [and] the desire to see this organisation excel, and represent our communities, because that is what we are ultimately about.”

Leeder's first order of business was to call for nominations for deputy chairperson.

Tauranga councillor Paula Chapman nominated former deputy, Western Bay councillor Jane Nees, and Mr White nominated Mr Iti.

Speaking to his nomination, Iti said it's great to see the process of open government in front of his community.

'There is an expectation on us as Māori councillors from our community for us to participate and to contest these roles. They can see for themselves that we are doing it and the challenges that we face.”

'As I am here, at our inauguration, in a blanket, my wild curly hair out, bare feet … I believe that it is important that there are times when we cast aside the cultural constructs and be unapologetically Māori and still bring value to organisations like Toi Moana. This is who I am, therefore this is who we are.

'Chairman [Doug] Leeder is business as usual, and kei te pai, we have business to get on with,” he said.

However, Iti asked that councillors 'endorse this other side of the community so that we can see ourselves reflected in the leadership”.

'To me your choice is not about which candidate can do the job better, it's about sending a strategic tohu, or signal, to our staff, to our communities and to the country that Toi Moana accepts and trusts contrasting parts of itself.”

He finished his speech with a rousing haka, supported by kapa haka students from Whakatāne High School.

However, only the Māori constituency councillors, White and Matamoana McDonald, gave him their votes. All of the general constituency councillors voted for Ms Nees.

Nees said being returned to the deputy chairwoman position was a great privilege and honour.

'We have a strong council but we have a lot of challenges ahead,” Nees said.