2019 Wellington City mayoral election

The 2019 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections and was be held on 12 October to determine who would serve as Mayor of Wellington for the next three-year term. It was won by Andy Foster, who unseated the incumbent Justin Lester by 62 votes.

2019 Wellington City mayoral election
12 October 2019
Turnout59,461 (40.12%)[1]
 
Candidate Andy Foster Justin Lester Diane Calvert
Party Independent Labour Independent
Popular vote 27,364 27,302 8,385
Percentage 50.02
(Last iteration)		 49.98
(Last iteration)
Mayor before election

Justin Lester
Labour

 Elected Mayor

Andy Foster
Independent

Key dates

Key dates for the election were:[2]

  • 1 July: Electoral Commission enrolment campaign began.
  • 19 July: Nominations opened for candidates. Rolls opened for inspection.
  • 16 August: Nominations closed at 12 noon. Rolls closed.
  • 21 August: Election date and candidates' names announced.
  • 20 to 25 September: Voting documents delivered to households. Electors could post the documents back to electoral officers as soon as they have voted.
  • 12 October: Polling day. Voting documents had to be at council before voting closes at 12 noon. Preliminary results were to be available as soon as all ordinary votes are counted.
  • 17 to 23 October: Official results, including all valid ordinary and special votes, declared.

Candidates
Candidates at a debate L. to R.: Condie, Calvert, Cox, Lester, Foster, Hill, Hausberg, Rathod

A total of nine candidates sought the mayoralty position in 2019.

Name Ticket Description Endorsements
Diane Calvert Your Advocate Wellington City Councillor for Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward Diane Calvert announced her candidacy for the Wellington City Council mayoralty on 13 August 2019.[3] The Wellington Party, a centre-right election ticket[4]
Jenny Condie YIMBY Futureproof Wellington Former Opportunities Party parliamentary candidate Jenny Condie confirmed her candidacy on 8 of August, 2019. She described herself as a moderate and supported the council increasing borrowing to pay for infrastructure while limiting any "spending spree on non-essential items".[5]
Andrew Cox aaacnp Nomination lodged on 16 August. He aimed to "make a significant contribution to dramatically cutting CO
2 emissions".[6]
Andy Foster Andy for Wellington Veteran councillor and 2017 New Zealand First parliamentary candidate Andy Foster announced he would be running for mayor for a third time.[7] Sir Peter Jackson, film director
Conor Hill For a Better Wellington Blogger Conor Hill entered the mayoral race on 10 July 2019. Hill previously worked in project management, IT, as a farmhand and volunteered for the Labour Party. He resigned his Labour membership to enable himself to stand against Lester, in accordance with the party's constitution.[8]
Norbert Hausberg Independent Former puppet theatre operator Norbert Hausberg was the first candidate to officially enter the race. He previously stood for the regional council in 2016 on a platform of reducing transport fares and carbon emissions, but was unsuccessful. In 2019 he pledged to, if elected, move towards making Wellington carbon neutral by 2022.[9]
Justin Lester Labour Incumbent mayor Justin Lester of the Labour Party announced he would run for a second term in 2019.[10] The Labour Party also fielded candidates to contest every ward, the first time they have done so since 1986. Celia Wade-Brown, former mayor[11]Unions Wellington[12]
Don Newt McDonald Plain Talk – Growth Is Bad 4 WGT Mayor Perennial and "anti-growth" candidate.[13][14]
Ajay Rathod Independent Local businessman. Lodged nomination on 15 August.[6]

Campaign

Local promoter Phil Sprey offered funding of $10,000 to the campaign for a viable candidate to run against Lester, stating Lester was "killing Wellington", but he was not interested in running himself. Lester responded by saying Sprey was "all talk".[15] Former councillor Bryan Weyburne and local businessman Digby Paape accepted Sprey's offer and formed the Wellington First Party which would focus on transportation issues and was critical of the amounts of ratepayer money spent on cycle ways.[16] Ultimately, Paape did not run for mayor.

Incumbent Mayor Justin Lester launched his re-election campaign in March at the Te Wharewaka function centre to a crowd of supporters and Labour Party faithful. He announced a series of promises for his second term including removing private vehicle access to Wellington City's golden mile which encompasses Lambton Quay, Willis Street and Courtenay Place. Other policies proposed by Lester included ending homelessness by increasing supported living units and establishing a 'Welcome Home' package for refugees which would grant new arrivals to the city free access to council facilities.[17]

On 12 July 2019 the formation of a new centre-right political grouping 'The Wellington Party' was announced. The new party fielded candidates for both the Wellington City Council and Wellington Regional Council with policies around expenditure cuts, improvement to the bus network and reduction of cycleway construction. The Wellington Party claimed to have polling data showing low approval ratings for both Lester and his grasp on the city's issues. Lester said he welcomed the new party stating it was good for democracy to have an open exchange of ideas. The party was created by members of the National Party; National's Wellington Central chair Bryan Hall became chairman of the new party, but has no official ties. It also subsumed the previously proposed Wellington First party.[18]

Near the end of July, Conor Hill called for council-owned golf courses to be reduced in size to free-up land for housing in an attempt to mitigate the housing crisis. Lester and other Labour Party representatives voiced opposition to the proposals, saying the city's green town belt needed protecting.[19] Hill launched a series of policies including a switch to land value-based rates, establishing light rail and cancelling council funding for airport runway extensions and convention centres.

August saw a series of late entries to the mayoral race and increasing criticism from councilors of the direction of the city under Lester's leadership. Diane Calvert, on announcing her bid for the mayoralty, said that "The city just hasn't moved forward [under Lester]. No one likes to say that about their city ... but I think its got to the stage now where we've got to be open and transparent about things." The Wellington Party withdrew its plans to stand a mayoral candidate for fear of splitting the centre-right vote, and instead encouraged supporters to vote for Calvert.[20][4] Andy Foster, a councilor since 1992, made his bid for the mayoralty later than most with the support of director Peter Jackson, who was opposed to the proposed development at Shelly Bay which included plans for new housing and retail space. Jackson stated he believed Lester lacked integrity.[21]

In September candidates' hoardings began to appear around the city. In an interview with the Dominion Post, three former mayors voiced their concern around the trajectory of Wellington. Lester's immediate predecessor, Celia Wade-Brown (mayor from 2010-2016), said she supported Lester continuing in the role. Mark Blumsky (1995-2001) defended his sale of the council asset Capital Power while he was mayor, and suggested that the council look at asset sales now as an alternative method of acquiring revenue to reinvest in Civic Square. Wade-Brown, Blumsky and Kerry Prendergast (2001-2010) identified a poor transport system, uncertainty around infrastructure projects and traffic as the primary issues hurting Wellington's reputation.[11] Also in September, the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions released endorsements concerning races throughout the Wellington region. Candidates who were, in the opinion of Unions Wellington, deemed to be "strong, progressive candidates who put working people first" received an endorsement. Justin Lester, Conor Hill and Norbert Hausberg were all recommended as potential 'progressive' mayors while it was urged that Jenny Condie and Andy Foster be ranked last by voters.[12]

Turnout

Preliminary data on turnout indicates that about 40% of eligible voters voted in this election. This would be lower than the previous election in 2016, which saw 45.6% turnout, but similar to the 2013 and 2010 elections.[22]

Results

In a result that shocked many,[23] Andy Foster beat incumbent Justin Lester on the final iteration by 62 votes, after votes for Calvert were transferred to Foster.[24][25] This was thought to be the closest result in a Wellington mayoral election.[26]

A preliminary count gave Foster a lead of 715 on the final iteration.[27] After the final results were announced and the margin reduced, Lester indicated he was might request a recount,[25][26] which he did on 25 October 2019,[28] but this request was denied by a court on 8 November 2019.[29]

2019 Wellington City mayoral election (final results)[30]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count 1Count 2Count 3Count 4Count 5Count 6Count 7Count 8
Independent Andy Foster 31.9 19,323 19,345 19,411 19,493 19,567 20,457 22,062 27,364
Labour Justin Lester 34.4 20,830 20,845 20,904 20,965 21,084 22,446 24,620 27,302
Independent Diane Calvert 13.8 8,385 8,405 8,429 8,493 8,584 9,335 11,471  
Independent Jenny Condie 9.7 5,901 5,925 5,957 6,005 6,143 7,227    
Independent Conor Hill 7.5 4,555 4,566 4,612 4,658 4,796      
Independent Norbert Hausberg 0.9 562 576 592 632        
Independent Ajay Rathod 0.6 399 406 426          
Independent Don McDonald 0.5 329 340            
Independent Andrew Cox 0.2 151              
Electorate:     Valid: 60,435   Quota:     Turnout: 40.12%

    Unsuccessful mayoral candidates Jenny Condie and Diane Calvert were both elected to Wellington City Council.[31] Lester's Labour ticket also faced setbacks in other Wellington local elections, with Brian Dawson losing his seat to student union president Tamatha Paul in the Lambton ward and Peter Gilberd losing his seat to Jenny Condie in the Northern ward.

    As mayor, Andy Foster also won the right to select the deputy mayor from the Wellington City councillors. A number of councillors approached Foster to push against selecting Nicola Young or Diane Calvert as deputy; the elected council was mainly left-leaning with three Labour members, three Green members, and two other left-leaning members, whereas Foster, Young, and Calvert are more conservative.[32][33] Foster selected Green Party member Sarah Free as the deputy mayor.[34]

    gollark: ++seach are you sure?
    gollark: ++search no it won't
    gollark: I actually just bodged it into kind of working by limiting results to 5.
    gollark: ++search the
    gollark: ++search no u

    See also

    References
    1. "Wellington City Council 2019 Triennial Elections - Election Returns". electionz.com. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
    2. "Race for the mayoralty: What you need to know". Radio NZ. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
    3. Councillor Calvert is candidate for Wellington mayoralty – “city needs real leadership”web, Scoop.co.nz, retrieved 13 August 2019
    4. Armstrong, Dave (27 August 2019). "Fifty shades of centre in the race to be Wellington mayor". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
    5. "'Moderate right' Jenny Condie becomes first woman to enter Wellington city council mayoral race". Stuff.co.nz. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
    6. "Mayor". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    7. "Sir Peter Jackson backs Andy Foster for Wellington mayoralty". Stuff.co.nz. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
    8. Campbell, Georgina (10 July 2019). "Wellington mayoral race: Blogger Conor Hill throws hat into ring against Justin Lester".
    9. Fonseka, Dileepa (28 July 2018). "Mayor Justin Lester runs against his ex-campaign volunteer Conor Hill and former puppet theatre operator Norman Hausbert". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
    10. "Wellington Mayor Justin Lester eyes second term in 2019 election". Stuff.co.nz. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    11. Desmarais, Felix and MacAndrew, Ruby (2 September 2019). "Former Wellington mayors weigh in on city issues and say it's 'lost its heart'". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 September 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    12. "Unions Wellington Election Guide". Facebook. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
    13. "Mayor". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
    14. Fonseka, Dileepa (16 August 2019). "'Growth is bad', pro-congestion Don McDonald joins Wellington Mayoral Race". Retrieved 28 August 2019.
    15. Hunt, Tom (21 November 2018). "$10,000 offered for a viable candidate to take on Wellington Mayor Justin Lester". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
    16. Hunt, Tom (9 December 2018). "Cyclists in the firing line for new Wellington political party". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
    17. Campbell, Georgina (12 May 2019). "Justin Lester launches Wellington mayoral campaign". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    18. Kilgallon, Steve (12 July 2019). "Centre-right 'Wellington Party' to contest council elections". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
    19. Fonseka, Dileepa (30 July 2019). "Call to use Wellington City council-owned golf course to ease housing crisis". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    20. Kilgallon, Steve (13 August 2019). "Mayoral race on in Wellington as rival ready to fight Lester over 'transparency'". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    21. Desmarais, Felix (16 August 2019). "Sir Peter Jackson backs Andy Foster for Wellington mayoralty". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    22. "Preliminary voter turnout 2019". www.lgnz.co.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
    23. "Justin Lester out: Andy Foster new Wellington mayor in tight race". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
    24. "What just happened, the capital city's election Justin Lester-v Andy Foster explained". Stuff (Fairfax) New Zealand. 13 October 2019.
    25. "Wellington mayoralty: Andy Foster's winning margin reduced in final count". RNZ. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
    26. Hunt, Tom (20 October 2019). "Justin Lester says recount in Wellington in mayoralty race 'likely'". Stuff. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
    27. "2019 Wellington City mayoral election". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
    28. George, Damian (25 October 2019). "Justin Lester lodges challenge of mayoral election result with Wellington District Court". Stuff. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
    29. George, Damian (8 November 2019). "Ousted Wellington mayor Justin Lester's application for vote recount declined". Stuff. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
    30. "2019 Triennial Elections Progress - Table of Iterations". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
    31. "Wellington City Council Election Results 2019". wellingtonelection2019.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
    32. Hunt, Tom (16 October 2019). "Can centre-right Foster wrangle a left-leaning Wellington council". Stuff. Dominion Post. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    33. Hunt, Tom (21 October 2019). "The Foster ultimatum: Choose a left-leaning deputy or else". Stuff. Dominion Post. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    34. Thursday; October 2019, 24; Council, 8:18 pm Press Release: Wellington City. "Cr Sarah Free chosen as Wellington's Deputy Mayor | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 24 October 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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