2022 Wellington City mayoral election
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Turnout | 72,025 (43.27%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2022 Wellington City mayoral election, part of the Wellington local elections in October 2022, determined who would serve as Mayor of the City of Wellington for the next three-year term. It was won by Tory Whanau, a former Green Party parliamentary chief of staff.
The election used the
Background and electoral method
The mayor is elected at large using the single transferable vote system.[7] Under the Local Government Act 2002, candidates were allowed to spend up to $60,000 on the campaign.[8]
Candidates
Nine candidates were nominated for the mayoralty.
Name | Ticket | Description |
---|---|---|
Ellen Blake | Independent | Wellington coordinator of Living Streets Aotearoa[9] |
Ray Chung | Independent | founder of the Onslow Residents' Community Association[10] |
Chris Dudfield | Independent – Vision/Skill/Results | Architect[11] |
Paul Eagle | Independent | Labour MP and former deputy mayor, endorsed by the Labour Party[12] |
Andy Foster
|
Together for Wellington | Incumbent mayor[13] |
Kelvin Hastie[14] | Future Wellington | Founder of Predator Free Wellington |
Donald McDonald[14] | Our truth all but whole truth | Perennial candidate |
Barbara McKenzie | Independent | Founder of the Wellington Significant Natural Areas (SNA) Committee. Anti-vaccination activist.[15][16] |
Tory Whanau | Independent | Former Green Party chief of staff[17] |
Declined to be candidates
- Diane Calvert, city councillor[18]
- Jenny Condie, city councillor[18]
- Jill Day, city councillor[19][20]
- Fleur Fitzsimons, city councillor[19][18]
- Laurie Foon, city councillor[18]
- Sarah Free, deputy mayor[18]
- Nick Leggett, former mayor of Porirua[21]
- Justin Lester, former mayor[19]
- Iona Pannett, city councillor[18]
- Tamatha Paul, city councillor[18]
- Simon Woolf, city councillor[18]
- Nicola Young, city councillor[18]
Campaign
Paul Eagle
Eagle announced his campaign and his endorsement by the Labour Party on 26 June 2022.[22][23] Eagle ran on a "back to basics" platform, focusing on repairing city infrastructure.[24] He took leave as an MP from 8 July to campaign,[23] and donated to charity his salary for that period.[25] Eagle spent $57,733 on his campaign.[8]
Andy Foster
Foster announced his intention to seek re-election on 7 July 2022 on Newstalk ZB.[26] He spent $54,108, including $17,000 on billboards.[8]
Tory Whanau
Whanau announced her entry into the race on 18 November 2021,[17] and was endorsed by the Green Party in April 2022.[27] She formally launched her campaign on 30 June 2022.[28] Georgina Campbell of The New Zealand Herald wrote that Whanau's early announcement helped her to overcome low name recognition. Whanau utilised street-level posters around the city to advertise.[24] Whanau spent $59,844, which included $23,000 on street-level posters and $15,000 on digital billboards.[8]
Issues and positions
In May 2022,
On 18 August, The Dominion Post reported mayoral and council candidate Barbara McKenzie as being an anti-vaxxer, not denying forming part of Voices for Freedom, and avowing support for 6 January U.S. Capitol rioters.[33]
Transport
Let's Get Wellington Moving, a programme of infrastructure works proposed by a consortium of
Whanau supported the completion of the Paneke Pōneke cycleway network, while Eagle opposed it and Foster called for a refocus of how it is being delivered.[37]
Whanau campaigned for extending the pedestrian zone of Cuba Street and trialling the use of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in suburban areas.[28]
Water infrastructure
The
Debates
Date | Organiser(s) | Moderator | Location | Participants | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagle | Foster | Whanau | ||||
31 August | Te Upoko o Te Ika[40]
|
Shane Te Pou | Wharewaka Function Centre | Present | Present | Present |
5 September | Inner City Wellington[41] | Stephen King | St Peter's Church | Present | Present | Present |
7 September | The Dominion Post[37]
|
Anna Fifield | Stuff newsroom | Present | Present | Present |
8 September | The New Zealand Herald Wellington Chamber of Commerce[42][43] |
Georgina Campbell | Rutherford House, Victoria University of Wellington[35] | Present | Present | Present |
8 September | Aro Valley Community Centre[44] | Bryan Crump | Lychgate Funeral Home | Present | Present | Present |
14 September | Arts Wellington[45] | Courtney Johnston | Te Whaea | Present | Present | Present |
15 September | The Spinoff[46] | Toby Manhire | Meow | Present | Present | Present |
21 September | Morning Report[47] | Susie Ferguson | Radio New Zealand | Present | Present | Present |
24 September | Newshub Nation[48]
|
Conor Whitten | Newshub | Present | Present | Present |
Opinion polling
Date | Polling organisation | MOE | Iteration | Ellen Blake | Ray Chung | Chris Dudfield | Kelvin Hastie | Paul Eagle | Andy Foster | Donald McDonald | Barbara McKenzie | Tory Whanau |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 August – 8 September 2022 | Q+A–Kantar[32] | ±4.4 | First | 3 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 26 |
Last | — | — | — | — | 51 | — | — | — | 49 |
Results
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
Independent | Tory Whanau | 42.56 | 30,656 | 30,762 | 31,176 | 31,330 | 32,027 | 32,317 | 34,462 | |
Together for Wellington | Andy Foster
|
16.43 | 11,835 | 11,878 | 11,987 | 12,105 | 12,476 | 12,916 | 16,711 | |
Independent | Paul Eagle | 16.57 | 11,935 | 11,974 | 12,097 | 12,213 | 12,519 | 12,783 | 14,589 | |
Independent | Ray Chung | 14.41 | 10,383 | 10,436 | 10,524 | 10,979 | 11,285 | 12,670 | ||
Independent – Vision/Skill/Results | Chris Dudfield | 3.51 | 2,535 | 2,553 | 2,585 | 2,754 | 2,960 | |||
Future Wellington | Kelvin Hastie | 2.73 | 1,971 | 2,001 | 2,135 | 2,208 | ||||
Independent | Barbara McKenzie | 1.69 | 1,224 | 1,253 | 1,341 | |||||
Independent | Ellen Blake | 1.52 | 1,101 | 1,116 | ||||||
Our truth all but whole truth | Don McDonald | 0.53 | 385 | |||||||
Valid: 72,025 Spoilt: 103 Quota: 32,881 Turnout: 43.27% |
Aftermath
Whanau's win saw her become the first Māori mayor of Wellington,[50] and the first person since Mark Blumsky in 1995 to be elected mayor of Wellington without experience as a city councillor.[51] Her win was described as a landslide victory,[52][53][54] and the most decisive since Wellington began using STV in 2004.[55] Eagle's third-place finish was described as an upset.[56]
The 2022 mayoral elections generally saw a swing to the political right, with Whanau's win an exception to that trend.[57] Both of the highest-polling candidates supported expansion of cycleways and mass transit.[58] All candidates agreed on further investment in 'pipes' to improve water infrastructure.[59] Voters preferred candidates whose position on Three Waters reform was of mild opposition (Foster) or supportive.[58] Strong opponents of the reform such as Dudfield[60] polled relatively poorly.
Whanau credited her campaign's success[61] to its mobilisation of voters,[62] and commentators described the election result as a vote for change, and consistent with a desire to 'fix what was going wrong' in water, transport, and housing.[63] Lara Greaves from the University of Auckland stated that Whanau's early declaration of her intention to run for mayor helped to increase her visibility.[64] Eagle conceded that his centrist campaign was the wrong strategy.[65]
References
- ^ "Mayor". Wellington City Council. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Tory Whanau wins Wellington mayoralty: 'It was just such an amazing moment'". Radio New Zealand. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Tso, Matthew (21 September 2019). "No rhyme or reason for incoherent voter behaviour". Stuff. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Wellingtonians unimpressed by fractured city council". Radio New Zealand. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (24 February 2021). "Wellington Mayor Andy Foster announces independent review of city council's governance". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ George, Damian (15 April 2021). "City councillors welcome review highlighting poor governance, allegations of bullying, and lack of direction". Stuff. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Electoral systems". Wellington City Council. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d Campbell, Georgina (9 December 2022). "Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau's large campaign spend-up pays off". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Hunt, Tom (27 June 2022). "The Wellington mayoralty is now a five-horse race. Will Andy Foster make it six?". Dominion Post. Stuff.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (26 April 2022). "Ray Chung wants to bring business sense to Wellington's mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ Wong, Justin (6 July 2022). "Chris Dudfield announces run for Wellington mayoralty". Dominion Post. Stuff.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (27 June 2022). "Rongotai MP Paul Eagle announces Wellington mayoral bid". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ Hickman, Bill (7 July 2022). "Wellington mayor Andy Foster emotional on-air as he confirms re-election bid". Dominion Post. Stuff.
- ^ a b "Nominations for Wellington City Council 2022 Triennial Elections". electionz.com.
- ^ Hunt, Tom (17 August 2022). "Wellington mayoral hopeful claimed Covid vaccine dangerous, backed Trump rioters". Stuff. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Tso, Matthew (21 April 2022). "'Hurry up and make a call': Wellington mayoral candidates urged to step forward". Stuff. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ a b MacManus, Joel (18 November 2021). "Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau running for Wellington mayor". Stuff.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Campbell, Georgina (19 November 2021). "Wellington City Council: Who's running again and who's not?". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ a b c MacManus, Joel (9 October 2021). "One year to go: The big issues that will define the Wellington local body election". Stuff.
- ^ Hunt, Tom (1 February 2022). "Wellington's first Māori woman to be deputy mayor stepping down". Dominion Post. Stuff.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (18 January 2022). "Former Porirua mayor Nick Leggett considering a return to politics". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "Paul Eagle confirms Wellington mayoral bid". Radio New Zealand. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ a b Hunt, Tom (27 June 2022). "Wellington mayoralty contender Paul Eagle pledges to hit the ground running if he wins". The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b Campbell, Georgina (10 October 2022). "Strategy helps unknown sweep to victory past MP in Wellington". The New Zealand Herald. p. A7.
- The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (7 July 2022). "Andy Foster announces Wellington mayoral bid on Newstalk ZB". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Wong, Justin (10 April 2022). "Greens announce Wellington local body candidates, endorse Tory Whanau for mayor". Stuff. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ Hunt, Tom (4 May 2022). "100 days out: Wellington's big city council election issues". The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Wellington City Council 2022 Pre-Election Report" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (12 July 2022). "Council candidates warned Wellington may need to sell commercial assets". The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Television New Zealand. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ a b Thomas, Rachel (8 September 2022). "Feuding Wellington mayoral candidates play nice at business debate". Stuff. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (10 September 2022). "Mayoral candidates share their priorities for Wellington's future". Stuff. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Gourley, Erin (7 September 2022). "Wellington mayoral debate ends with heated argument on Shelly Bay". Stuff. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (7 September 2022). "Wellington mayoral debate ends with heated argument on Shelly Bay". Stuff. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Manhire, Toby (30 August 2022). "Andy Foster is asking Wellington for a sequel". The Spinoff. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ a b Gourley, Erin (31 August 2022). "Quips, barbs and cold shoulders at Wellington's first big mayoral debate". Stuff. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Olsen, Stephen (6 September 2022). "Mayoral candidates: mojo, mahi, and cool". Scoop. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "NZ Herald partners with Wellington Chamber of Commerce for mayoral debate". The New Zealand Herald. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Wellington mayoral candidate puts $40,000 of own money into campaign". The New Zealand Herald. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ Frame, Kirsty (9 September 2022). "Death by the bell: Wellington's infamous council debate held in funeral home". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ Chumko, André (15 September 2022). "'We are watching you': Mayoral candidates vie for votes from Wellington's arts sector". Stuff. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Watch: The Spinoff's Wellington mayoral candidate debate". The Spinoff. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Watch: Wellington mayoral candidates debate housing, climate, transport". Radio New Zealand. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Iasona, Seni (24 September 2022). "Local elections: Wellington Mayoral candidates underwhelm commentators in Newshub Nation debate". Newshub. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Wellington City Council – 2022 Triennial Elections" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (8 October 2022). "Your Vote 2022: Tory Whanau elected as Wellington's mayor". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (18 October 2022). "Whanau to move on from the 'coolest little capital' and look to future". Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Neas, Ollie (8 October 2022). "Tory Whanau celebrates mayoral win, urges 'reconnection'". The Spinoff. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- Television New Zealand. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Former Green Party Chief of Staff, Tory Whanau is Wellington's new mayor". Newstalk ZB. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Erin (10 October 2022). "Wellington region's new mayors prioritise teamwork and rebuilding trust". The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- The Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "'A shift in political thinking': many of New Zealand's cities lurch right in local elections". the Guardian. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ a b Campbell, Georgina (10 October 2022). "On The Tiles – Local Edition: Dissecting the local body election results". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Gourley, Tom Hunt and Erin (23 September 2022). "Wellington mayor Andy Foster says missed campaign promises were part of plan to get two terms at top". Stuff. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Whyte, Anna; Producer, Senior Digital Political. "Meet the Wellington City Council mayoral candidates". 1 News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Daalder, Marc (8 October 2022). "Whanau bucks trend in referendum on leadership". Newsroom. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Godrey, Morgan (12 October 2022). "New Zealand's local elections appear to show a backlash against Ardern. The reality is more complex". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Chumko, André (11 October 2022). "Tory Whanau's 'masterful' campaign catapulted her into mayoralty, experts say". Stuff. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Cardwell, Hamish (9 October 2022). "Failed Wellington mayoral candidate Paul Eagle says 'everyone voted on party lines'". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 9 October 2022.