Boppies, Bayites, Bopites, Papamoaites and Former Aucklanders were some of the suggestions.
He said it was good to do a light-hearted exercise and have a bit of fun with the community, among the more serious topics he dealt with as a politician.
With the help of his mum Sharon Nightingale, a Tauranga resident since the 90s, the options were filtered down to “Steamers” and “Boppers”.
Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford with his mum Sharon Nightingale. Photo / Supplied
Rutherford said he and his mum had a lot of fun and she didn’t hold back – “she was pretty savage on some things”.
Nightingale said “Boppers” had some energy to it, and people would associate with “Steamers”.
From there, it was up to “the only person fit to make the call”, the Bay of Plenty Steamers fanatic Terry Leaming, aka Hori BOP.
Leaming said he was chosen purely for his “good looks and high intelligence” and it only took half a pie to make his decision – the Boppers.
Rutherford said he was shocked Hori BOP didn’t choose the “Steamers” given his love for the regional rugby team.
“Boppers seemed like the logical choice to me,” Leaming said. “The Steamers is basically associated with the Bay of Plenty rugby union team, so that’s just very specific.
“We needed a generic term that actually catered for all areas of the Bay of Plenty.”