2025 Wellington mayoral election

2025 Wellington mayoral election
11 October 2025
Turnout81,574 (49.99%)
 
Candidate Andrew Little Karl Tiefenbacher Ray Chung
Party Labour Independent Independent Together
Popular vote 46,016 11,494 8,534
Percentage 56.4% 14.1% 10.5%
Mayor before election

Tory Whanau

 Elected mayor

Andrew Little

The 2025 Wellington mayoral election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Wellington, New Zealand, as part of that year's city council election and nation-wide local elections. Voters elected the mayor of Wellington for the 2025–2028 term of the Wellington City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system were used.

The incumbent mayor Tory Whanau did not run for a second term as mayor, instead running for council in the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward.

Former Labour leader Andrew Little won the mayoralty in a landslide.

Key dates

The timeline of electoral events are:[1]

  • Friday 4 July – Candidate nominations open, roll opens for public inspection
  • Friday 1 August – Nominations close at midday, electoral roll closes
  • Tuesday 9 September – Ballots posted out, voting opens
  • Saturday 11 October – Voting closes at midday
  • Saturday 11 October – Preliminary results released
  • Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 October – Final results declared

Background

Campaign

Incumbent mayor Tory Whanau had announced she would run for a second term, but later changed her mind after Andrew Little entered the race.[2] Ray Chung would contest the election as the candidate from the Independent Together group.

Other candidates looking to contest the mayoralty include business owner Karl Tiefenbacher, former Wellington LIVE media owner Graham Bloxham, conservationist Kelvin Hastie, former city councillor Rob Goulden,[3][4] and former chartered accountant Alex Baker.[5][6]

A campaign parodying Independent Together was launched in June 2025, featuring "Pennywize the Rewilding Clown" for mayor, with a campaign website that closely parodied that of the Independent Together website. The parody played on the character from Stephen King's horror franchise It.[7]

In late July, Bloxham announced that he was withdrawing from the race citing personal attacks.[8]

Fundraising

In December 2025, The New Zealand Herald reported that Little had spent NZ$58,990.26 on his mayoral campaign, with the funds mainly going into signs, Facebook advertising and flyers. In terms of donations, Little received NZ$2,000 from former National Party MP Chris Finlayson, $2,500 from former Labour MP and diplomat Annette King and her husband, $5,000 from multimillionaire developer Ian Cassels of the Wellington Company, and $2,500 from former city councillor and art patron Chris Parkin. The Maritime Union of New Zealand, Amalgamated Workers Union, E tū, and Dairy Workers Union each donated $5,000 to Little's campaign. In addition, former Wellington Mayor Justin Lester and the Labour Party raised $2,075 and $1,634.15 for Little through fundraising dinners.[9]

Ray Chung received between NZ$150,000 and 200,000 in donations through his electoral ticket Independent Together. These donations included NZ$10,000 from heritage advocate Felicity Wong, NZ$5,000 from investment management company The Thorndon Group, $27,542.17 from Independent Together's parent organisation Better Wellington, and $20,000 from philantrophist Mark Dunajtschik (who subsequently rescinded his support for Chung following media coverage about his remarks of incumbent mayor Tory Whanau).[9] Wellington councillor and mayoral candidate Karl Tiefenbacher received $50,617 worth in campaign donations while fellow councillor Diane Calvert spent $16,000 on her campaign.[9]

List of candidates

Declared

Candidate[10] Photo Affiliation[a] Notes
Alex Baker Independent Former chartered accountant,[12] also running for councillor in the Motukairangi/Eastern ward[5]
Scott 'Scoot' Caldwell The Scoot Foundation Aucklander who visited Wellington for the first time in June 2025.[13][14] Affordable housing and transport advocate.[15][12]
Diane Calvert Not Affiliated Incumbent councillor for the Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward since 2016. Also running for re-election as a councillor for the Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward.[16][17][12]
Ray Chung Independent Together[18] City councillor since 2022, and mayoral candidate in the 2022 election[3][12]
Rob Goulden My Vision for the City 2050 Former city councillor (1998–2010).[3][12] Also running to be a councillor in the Motukairangi/Eastern general ward.
Josh Harford Aotearoa New Zealand Silly Hat Party[19] Deputy leader (Consort), Silly Hat Party. Satirical candidate.[20][7][12]
Kelvin Hastie Independent Conservationist and mayoral candidate in the 2022 election.[3][12] Also running to be a councillor for the Wharangi/Onslow-Western general ward.
Andrew Little Labour[21] Former Labour leader and cabinet minister[22][23][12]
Donald McDonald Mcdone waiting 2coming terms Passover Previously ran for mayor in 2019[24] and 2022.[25][12] Also running for councillor in the Paekawakawa/Southern general ward.[26]
William Pennywize Pennywize the Rewilding Clown Satirical candidate.[20][7][27][12]
Joan Shi Independent Previously ran in the 2024 Pukehīnau/Lambton general ward by-election.[28][12] Also running to be a councillor in the Takapū/Northern general ward.
Karl Tiefenbacher Independent Businessman and founder of icecream brand Kaffee Eis.[3] Previously ran in the 2024 Pukehīnau/Lambton general ward by-election.[28] Also running to be a councillor in the Motukairangi/Eastern ward.[12]

Speculated

  • John Apanowicz, councillor for the Northern ward since 2022[29]
  • Justin Lester, former mayor (2016–19)[30]

Declined

Withdrawn

Opinion polling

Date Polling organisation Sample size Alex Baker Diane Calvert Ray Chung Kelvin Hastie Andrew Little Karl Tiefenbacher Tory Whanau Other
4–6 September 2025 1 News–Verian[37] 403 3 6 16 0 58 10 — 9[b]
22–28 August 2025 Curia[c][38] 750 5.9 15.6 18.9 1.5 44.6 9.3 — —
January 2025 Curia[d][39] 1,000 — — 56 11 — — 33 —

Results

Former Labour leader Andrew Little won the mayoralty in a landslide. Businessman Karl Tiefenbacher came in second, with councillor Ray Chung in third place.[40]

2025 Wellington City mayoral election[41]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Labour Andrew Little 56.4% 46,016
Independent Karl Tiefenbacher 14.1% 11,494
Independent Together Ray Chung 10.2% 8,534
Independent Alex Baker 9.2% 7,506
Independent Diane Calvert 5% 4,093
Independent Kelvin Hastie 1.2% 954
Independent Rob Goulden 1.1% 893
Independent Joan Shi 0.6% 459
Independent William Pennywize 0.4% 364
Independent Scott Caldwell 0.4% 295
Silly Hat Party Josh Harford 0.3% 270
Independent Don McDonald 0.3% 253
Electorate: 81,574   Valid: 81,131   Spoilt: 120/323   Quota: 40,566   Turnout: 49.99%  

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket, political party, whānau, hapū, or iwi.[11]
  2. ^ Rob Goulden on 4%, Josh Harford on 3%, Scott Caldwell and William Pennywize on 1%, Joan Shi and Donald McDonald on 0%
  3. ^ Commissioned by Common Ground Aotearoa, a lobby group in favour of land value tax.
  4. ^ Commissioned by Better Wellington, a right-wing group which endorsed Ray Chung for mayor.

References

  1. ^ "Local body elections 2025". Wellington City Council. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  2. ^ Waiwiri-Smith, Lyric (29 April 2025). "Tory Whanau drops out of mayoral race". The Spinoff.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Crimp, Lauren (31 March 2025). "Wellington local elections: Who's running for mayor?". RNZ. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. ^ Hunt, Tom (19 May 2025). "Hint of seventh Wellington mayoral candidate to fight for bus lanes". The Post. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b Hunt, Tom (9 June 2025). "Former chartered accountant, progressive takes Wellington mayoral race to seven". The Post. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. ^ Gibbens, Krystal (9 June 2025). "Tory Whanau 'glad' to see new mayoral candidate Alex Baker enter race". RNZ. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Campaign countdown: The week that was in Wellington's council". The Post. 21 June 2025. Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b Manera, Ethan (29 July 2025). "Controversial Wellington mayoral candidate quits race, cites 'personal attacks'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Manera, Ethan (11 December 2025). "Wellington Mayor Andrew Little's financial backers revealed, electoral officer queries Ray Chung's funding". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 22 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  10. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections | Wellington City Council". www.electionz.com. electionz.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Pukapuka Aratohu Kaitonopōti | Candidate Handbook" (PDF). wellington.govt.nz. Wellington City Council. p. 17. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l MacManus, Joel (5 August 2025). "Windbag: The clown car of candidates vying to be Wellington's next mayor". The Spinoff. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  13. ^ Hunt, Tom (2 August 2025). "Here are your Wellington mayoral candidates – and these are their policies". The Post.
  14. ^ "Bullying, Bolton and Bloxham ... mayoral race brings you the letter B". The Post. 2 August 2025.
  15. ^ Caldwell, Scott (29 July 2025). ""A Fresh, No-Nonsense Vision To Revitalise Wellington": Scott 'Scoot' Caldwell Announces Mayoral Run". Scoop.co.nz.
  16. ^ "Diane Calvert standing as a centrist mayoral candidate". Scoop. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  17. ^ Vance, Andrea (19 July 2025). "Diane Calvert makes surprise Wellington mayoral bid, rejects 'slogan politics'". The Post. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Eleven candidates promise zero WCC rates increases". Wellington.Scoop. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  19. ^ "News – Silly Hat Party". sillyhatparty.org.nz. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  20. ^ a b Hunt, Tom (28 July 2025). "Clowns to the left, jokers to the right: Wellington's wildest mayoral race yet?". The Post. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Andrew Little secures Labour mayoral nomination". RNZ. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Former Wellington mayors positive after Andrew Little announces bid for the job". Stuff. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Andrew Little to run for Wellington mayoralty". RNZ. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  24. ^ Fonseka, Dileepa (16 August 2019). "'Growth is bad', pro-congestion Don McDonald joins Wellington Mayoral Race". Stuff. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  25. ^ Gourley, Erin (12 August 2022). "Wellington region, these are your mayoral candidates". Stuff. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  26. ^ Hunt, Tom (26 July 2025). "Election countdown: Ghost road cone complaints and sexual innuendo from Auckland". The Post. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Rewilding clown announces candidacy for Wellington mayoralty". Wellington.Scoop. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  28. ^ a b James, Nick (12 February 2024). "Pukehīnau / Lambton General Ward by-election: Who are the candidates?". RNZ. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  29. ^ Hunt, Tom (28 December 2024). "Who wants to be Wellington's next mayor?". The Post. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  30. ^ James, Nick (23 January 2025). "Former Wellington mayor Justin Lester not ruling out running again". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  31. ^ a b c Manera, Ethan (17 March 2025). "Labour Party extends nominations for Wellington Mayoral candidate". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  32. ^ Hunt, Tom (31 December 2024). "Labour on the hunt for a Wellington mayor ... and a new contender from National?". The Post. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  33. ^ Argue, Mary (9 April 2025). "Parker not interested in local govt role". Otago Daily Times.
  34. ^ Hunt, Tom (30 April 2025). "Andrew Little shores up political support in Wellington mayoral bid". The Post. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  35. ^ Dexter, Giles (29 April 2025). "Tory Whanau quits Wellington mayoral race". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  36. ^ Manera, Ethan (29 January 2025). "Wellington Live owner Graham Bloxham announces mayoral bid, sale of Facebook page". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  37. ^ Hu, Justin (14 September 2025). "Wellington mayoral poll: One candidate holds commanding lead". 1News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  38. ^ Hunt, Tom (3 September 2025). "Little tops first poll in Wellington mayoral race". The Post.
  39. ^ Manera, Ethan (15 April 2025). "Wellington mayoral polling: Full Curia numbers released, Ray Chung ahead of Tory Whanau". The New Zealand Herald.
  40. ^ James, Nick (11 October 2025). "Andrew Little wins mayoralty bid in Wellington, Tory Whanau misses out on Māori Ward seat". RNZ. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  41. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). www.electionz.com. Wellington City Council. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
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