Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau has been elected as Wellington’s next mayor, according to a progress result released this afternoon.
Incumbent Mayor Andy Foster finished second with Ray Chung third and Paul Eagle, surprisingly, fourth.
The WCC announced that Tory Whanau received 29,458 votes compared to Mr Foster’s 13,032 votes – a margin of 16,426 votes.
Don’t bother with the negative Twitter narrative about election meetings hosted by Residents’ Associations. This week’s meetings have all been well organised, disciplined and most had hot drinks and a chance to meet the candidates. The RAs have supported local democracy by hosting good face-to-face events in suburban halls and churches.
The Wellington local election campaign is coming to an end and it would be overstating things to say it has been dull. The only pinch of excitement came with the emergence of a young Māori wahine, carrying progressive values.
When the debates started, it all went downhill. There have been dozens of them, and the only takeaway is that all candidates want a vibrant, inclusive, green city. This set of commonplaces is not helping to differentiate one candidate from another, for example during the conclusion of the Spinoff debate. On the policy front, they all say they’ll achieve their “vision” with better bus services (over which they have zero control) and more housing. And since I want to vote on a vision and its supporting policies, and not for a person, it’s been very hard, listening to the debates and reading candidates’ websites, to feel we have a choice.
For the Love of Letterpress offers a behind the scenes tour of Wai te ata Press with Sydney Shep, showcasing the studio’s remarkable letterpress technologies and the only working collection of Chinese full form heritage type in the southern hemisphere.
Kia ora St John’s whānau, This Sunday we gather for worship at 10am and we continue the story of Moses (now he’s grown up) We hear the extraordinary encounter Moses has with a burning bush – our Bible reading is Exodus 3:1–15.
Be among the first to experience He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving, a landmark exhibition bringing together seven centuries of artistry from Te Papa’s collections.
E-News 28th August 2026 Talofa lava, tēnā koutou katoa, and warm Pacific greetings. It has been one of those weeks that has held a mixture of sadness and celebration, remembrance […]
