2019 Wellington City Council election

2019 Wellington City Council election
12 October 2019
Turnout41.20% Decrease ~pp
(61,061 out of 148,191 enrolled voters)
Mayoral election
 
Candidate Andy Foster Justin Lester
Party Independent Labour
Final round votes 27,364 27,302
Percentage 45.28% 45.18%
First choice votes 19,323 20,830
Percentage 31.97% 34.47%
Mayor before election

Justin Lester
Labour

Elected mayor

Andy Foster
Independent

Council election
All 14 seats available
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
Independents 8 0
Labour 3 0
Green 3 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2019 Wellington City Council election took place on the 12th of October 2019, to elect the Mayor of Wellington, city councillors, and community board members for the 2019–2022 term, as part of nation-wide local elections.

Electoral system

The fourteen councilors were elected across five wards, while the Mayor was elected at large. All offices were elected through a single transferable vote (STV) system done via postal voting.

Candidates could not spend more than $60,000 on electoral expenses[1] and had to disclose details of any donations larger than $1,500.[2]

Background

Wellington Convention Centre

In December 2015 the Wellington City Council bought land opposite Te Papa to build a convention centre. The council agreed to give a 25 year lease on the bottom two floors to the Movie Museum Limited, an organisation owned by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Richard Taylor and Tania Roger.[3][4][5] In March 2017 it was revealed that the Museum was delaying construction as its plans hadn't been finished. Delays on constructuion continued and in August of that year's, the museum's lease was cancelled.[3][6] Eventually in August 2019 work on the convention center began.[7]

Shelly Bay

In February 2016 property developer Ian Cassel's company, The Wellington Company, proposed a partnership with the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust for a mixed use development in Shelly Bay.[8][9] Beneficiaries of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust voting against selling the land, but in July of the following year the board of the Trust and Cassells would renegotiate terms and the Board sold the land anyways.[9][10] The trust sold the land for 2 million dollars despite buying it for 13.3 million dollars.[9]

Map showing ownership of Shelly Bay as of April 2017

Pending resource consent the council received 1100 public submissions on the development, 51% of which were negative,[11] and faced opposition from the public along with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.[12] September 2017 the Council approved the resource consent for the development and agreed to sell land to the company for the devlopment.[13] A local business group, the "Miramar Business Improvement District" appealed to the High Court for a judicial review of the consent but was rejected.[14]

Incumbents not seeking re-election

Incumbent Independent councillor Simon Marsh and Green councillor David Lee did not run again in the Motukairangi/Eastern Ward and the Paekawakawa/Southern Ward respectively.

Results

Mayor

Ten candidates announced that they would run for mayor, including incumbent Justin Lester.

Main article: 2019 Wellington City mayoral election

Fundraising and endorsements

Andy Foster[16]

Endorsements

Donations

  • $5,000 - Portsmouth Rentals, film equipment rental agency[17]
  • $10,00 - Park Road Post, post production facility[17]
  • $10,000 Maudi Trust
  • 15,000 - Weta Digital, visual effects company[17][19]
  • $10,000 - Phil Sprey, concert promoter
  • $5,000 - Antipodes, skincare company[20]
  • $4,738 - Building Solutions, construction company[21]

Expenses

  • $58,066.32
Justin Lester (Labour)[22]

Endorsements

Donations

  • $5,000 - E tū, trade union

Expenses

  • $16,284.38

Results

2019 Wellington City mayoral election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Andy for Wellington Andy Foster 31.97% 19,323 19,345 19,411 19,493 19,567 20,457 22,062 27,364
Labour Justin Lester† 34.47% 20,830 20,845 20,904 20,965 21,084 22,446 24,620 27,302
Your Advocate Diane Calvert 13.87% 8,385 8,405 8,429 8,493 8,584 9,335 11,471
YIMBY Futureproof Wellington Jenny Condie 9.76% 5,901 5,925 5,957 6,005 6,143 7,227
For a Better Wellington Conor Hill 7.54% 4,555 4,566 4,612 4,658 4,796
Independent Norbert Hausberg 0.93% 562 576 592 632
Independent Ajay Rathod 0.66% 399 406 426
Plain Talk – Growth Is Bad 4 WGT Mayor Don McDonald 0.54% 329 340
aaacnp Andrew Cox 0.25% 151
Valid: 60,435   Spoilt: 626   Quota: first iteration: 30,218, last iteration: 27,333  
Sankey diagram of the mayoral election results.

Councillors

† indicates the incumbent candidate

Takapū/Northern Ward

The Takapū/Northern ward returned three councillors to the city council.

2019 Wellington City Council Takapū/Northern Ward Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Jill Day† 27.77% 3,404 3,065 3,125 3,125 3,134 2,981 3,316
Moderate Independent Malcolm Sparrow† 17.10% 2,098 2,173 2,220 2,322 2,507 2,546 2,997
YIMBY Futureproof Wellington Jenny Condie 16.37% 2,007 2,079 2,136 2,220 2,367 2,402 2,900
Labour Peter Gilberd† 13.34% 1,635 1,717 1,761 1,859 1,989 2,029 2,259
Wellington Party John Apanowicz 12.24% 1,500 1,533 1,598 1,664 1,925 1,944
Political Parties have NO PLACE in Local Govt Graeme Sawyer 5.96% 731 747 818 866
Independent John Peters 3.93% 482 493 519
Independent Tracy Hurst-Porter 3.27% 401
Valid: 12,258   Spoilt: 452   Quota: first iteration: 3,064.5, last iteration: 2,868.02  

Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward

The Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. Andy Foster was an incumbent in this ward and ran for reelection but his candidacy was superseded by his victory in the mayoral race, and his votes were redistributed according to next preferences.

2019 Wellington City Council Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Your Advocate Diane Calvert† 26.92% 4,141 3,846 4,082 3,793 3,904 3,756 4,133 3,714 3,724 3,945
Independent Simon Woolf† 19.00% 2,923 3,014 3,211 3,306 3,398 3,447 3,756 3,852 3,684 3,916
Labour Rebecca Matthews 14.58% 2,243 2,277 2,358 2,393 2,896 2,916 3,073 3,142 3,166 3,815
Independent Michelle Rush 7.78% 1,196 1,232 1,372 1,412 1,680 1,703 1,946 2,036 2,073 2,472
For a Better Wellington Conor Hill 8.05% 1,239 1,269 1,365 1,396 1,597 1,614 1,867 1,932 1,959
Independent Rohan Biggs 8.28% 1,274 1,307 1,426 1,464 1,549 1,569
Green Richard McIntosh 8.41% 1,293 1,307 1,359 1,374
Independent Ray Chung 6.98% 1,073 1,108
Valid: 15,382   Spoilt: 310   Quota: first iteration: 3845.50, last iteration: 3536.95  

Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward

The Pukehīnau/Lambton ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.

2019 Wellington City Council Takapū/Northern Ward Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Green Iona Pannett† 31.78% 3,220 2,539 2,578 2,512 2,607 2,571
Independent Nicola Young† 25.31% 2,565 2,652 2,547 2,517 2,561 2,678
Independent Tamatha Paul 19.21% 1,947 2,134 2,253 2,279 2,483 2,770
Labour Brian Dawson† 12.03% 1,219 1,431 1,500 1,530 1,624 1,758
Independent Shan Ng 4.95% 502 544 592 606 670
Independent Lee Orchard 4.12% 417 490 549 561
Independent Harry Smith 2.60% 263 290
Valid: 10,133   Spoilt: 287   Quota: first iteration: 2,533.25, last iteration: 2,444.17  

Motukairangi/Eastern Ward Ward

The Motukairangi-Eastern ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.

2019 Wellington City Council Motukairangi-Eastern Ward Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Green Sarah Free† 26.48% 3,019 2,883 2,920 3,052 2,799
Labour Teri O'Neill 19.33% 2,204 2,305 2,408 2,872 2,895
Wellington Party Sean Rush 17.43% 1,988 2,061 2,247 2,692 2,764
Independent Chris Calvi-Freeman† 17.52% 1,998 2,072 2,176 2,416 2,501
Independent Steph Edlin 11.44% 1,305 1,368 1,488
Independent Bernard O'Shaughnessy 5.21% 594 645
Independent Ajay Rathod 2.59% 295
Valid: 11,403   Spoilt: 528   Quota: first iteration: 2,850.75, last iteration: 2,739.83  

Paekawakawa/Southern Ward

The Paekawakawa/Southern ward returns two councillors to the Wellington City Council.

2019 Wellington City Council Paekawakawa/Southern Ward Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Labour Fleur Fitzsimons† 41.10% 3,967
Green Laurie Foon 39.42% 3,805
Independent Humphrey Hanley 12.94% 1,249
Independent Thomas Morgan 6.55% 632
Valid: 9,653   Spoilt: 414   Quota: 3,217.67  

Other local elections

Tawa Community Board

The Tawa Community Board is made up of 2 councilors along with 6 representatives who are voted in by residents of Tawa, Grenada North and Takapu Valley.

2019 Tawa Community Board Election[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Independent Steph Knight 20.06% 795 586.94 573.64 591.19 575.93 564.93 551.29 546.63 544.08
Independent Richard Herbert 17.66% 700 592.93 582.35 583.00 600.74 566.05 551.83 546.21 543.59
Independent Graeme Hansen† 14.69% 582 627.39 572.85 579.80 607.78 565.27 552.22 546.16 543.58
Independent Robyn Parkinson† 11.48% 455 507.51 519.89 548.39 578.43 564.72 551.52 547.14 544.55
Independent Jackson Lacy 9.36% 371 419.23 430.19 455.58 511.32 535.90 549.24 548.02 544.57
Independent Anna Scott 8.02% 318 373.25 386.48 434.16 492.47 518.12 532.12 539.84 544.78
Independent Damian Hewett 7.67% 304 357.57 377.21 400.19 459.14 490.63 505.89 514.12 519.15
Independent John Peters 6.69% 265 278.87 284.54 298.05
Independent Bronwyn Thurston 4.37% 173 190.04 195.56
Valid: 3,963   Spoilt: 200   Quota: first iteration: 566.14, last iteration: 540.61  

Mākara / Ōhāriu Community Board

The Mākara / Ōhāriu Community Board is made up of 6 representatives voted in by residents of Mākara, Mākara Beach and Ōhāriu. Only six candidates ran so all won automatically.

2019 Mākara / Ōhāriu Community Board Election[25]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Independent Wayne Rudd† N/A
Independent John Apanowicz† N/A
Independent Christine Grace† N/A
Independent Hamish Todd† N/A
Independent Chris Renner† N/A
Independent Darren Hoskins N/A
Quota: N/A  

See also

References

  1. ^ "Local Electoral Act 2001, section 111". Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Electoral Act 1993, Section 209". Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Dooney, Laura (15 August 2018). "Sir Peter Jackson's movie museum plan dropped". Radio New Zealand.
  4. ^ Devlin, Collette (8 December 2015). "Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor sign 25 year lease for Wellington movie museum". Stuff.
  5. ^ "Wellington Council hooked by $150m museum design". Radio New Zealand. 17 August 2016.
  6. ^ Devlin, Collette (15 August 2018). "Director's cut: how Sir Peter Jackson's movie museum deal with Wellington's council collapsed". Stuff.
  7. ^ "Work to start on Wellington's Convention and Exhibition Centre". Takina. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  8. ^ Devlin, Collette; Rutherford, Hamish. "Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust closing on Shelly Bay sale". No. 14 September 2016. Stuff.
  9. ^ a b c Hager, Nicky (3 September 2020). "The long, sorry saga of Shelly Bay". The New Zealand Herald.
  10. ^ Hunt, Tom; Devlin, Collette (20 September 2016). "Urgent Waitangi Tribunal to stop the sale of Shelly Bay for development". Stuff.
  11. ^ "Submissions show public opposition to Shelly Bay development plans". Scoop. 8 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Countless: Peter Jackson among those concerned about Shelly Bay development". Scoop. 4 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Close vote approves $2.5m sale of city land for 350 homes in Shelly Bay". Scoop. 27 September 2017.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (9 April 2018). "High Court rejects judicial review of housing development". Radio New Zealand.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "Wellington City Council 2019 Triennial Elections - Final STV Result Report" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Andy Foster return of electoral donations and expenses" (PDF). Wellington City Council.
  17. ^ a b c d "Sir Peter Jackson behind $30,000 for Wellington mayor's campaign". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Sir Peter Jackson backs Andy Foster for Wellington mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Weta Digital asked staff to support mayoral candidate Andy Foster". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Antipodes Website". Antipodes. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Building Solutions Website". Building Solutions Limited. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Justin Lester return of electoral donations and expenses" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Former Wellington mayors weigh in on city issues and say it's 'lost its heart'". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Unions Wellington Election Guide". Facebook. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Makara-Ohariu Community Board Election Election 2019:". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
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