Joseph Reid Dodson JP, was the first Mayor of Nelson in New Zealand from 1874. He was a prominent brewer and Resident Magistrate in Nelson and his sixth generation descendants still operate a brewery in the city.

The mayor of Nelson is the head of the municipal government of Nelson, New Zealand, and presides over the Nelson City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a single transferable vote electoral system. The current mayor is Nick Smith, who was elected in September 2022.