2025 Porirua City Council election

2025 Porirua City Council election
11 October 2025
TurnoutTBD
Mayoral election
Mayor before election

Anita Baker
Independent

Elected mayor

TBD

Council election
All 10 ward seats on the Porirua City Council
Incumbents before election
Affiliation Seats Change
  Independents 8
  Labour 2
First preference vote share of elected councillors by ward

The 2025 Porirua City Council election is an upcoming local election to be held from 9 September to 11 October in Porirua, New Zealand, as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters will elect the mayor of Porirua and 10 city councillors for the 2025–2028 term of the Porirua City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system will be used.

The council introduced a Māori ward at the 2022 election; its future will be decided in a referendum on the issue, as part of a nation-wide series of referendums.

Key dates

  • 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates will open
  • 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates will close at 12 pm
  • 9 September 2025: Voting documents will be posted and voting will open
  • 11 October 2025: Voting will close at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results will be published
  • 16–19 October 2025: Final results will be declared.[1][2]

Background

Positions up for election

Voters in the city will elect the mayor of Porirua and 10 city councillors across 3 wards. They will also elect several members of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.[3]

Māori wards referendum

In May 2021, the Porirua City Council voted to establish a Māori ward,[4] with the Parirua Māori ward first contested in the 2022 elections.[5]

In July 2024, the National-led coalition government passed the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 which reinstated the requirement that councils must hold a referendum before establishing Māori wards or constituencies. In August 2024, the council voted unanimously to affirm their decision to establish the Māori constituency, thereby triggering a referendum on the constituency to be held alongside the 2025 local elections.[5][6]

Amalgamation referendum

In May 2025, Porirua City Council voted to also hold an indicative referendum alongside the election regarding potential amalgamation of the council with Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Upper Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council.[7]

Campaign

List of candidates

Incumbents not seeking re-election

  • Tracy Johnson, incumbent councillor for the Pāuatahanui general ward[8]

Mayor

Candidate[9] Photo Affiliation[a] Notes
Anita Baker Independent Incumbent mayor since 2019[12][13]
Kathleen Filo Independent Councillor for the Onepoto ward since 2022.[14] Also running for re-election as a councillor in the Onepoto general ward.
Ura Wilson-Pokoati Independent Also running to be a councillor in the Onepoto general ward

Councillors

Parirua Māori ward

Parirua Māori ward will return one councillor to the city council.[15]

Candidate[9] Affiliation[a] Notes
Raniera (Daniel) Albert Independent
Rawinia Te Rimene Independent
Jess Te Huia Independent Previously ran for the council in the Onepoto general ward in 2022[16]
Kylie Wihapi None Incumbent councillor and deputy mayor[8]

Onepoto General ward

The Onepoto General ward will return five councillors to the city council.[15]

Candidate[9] Affiliation[a] Notes
Miriam Albert Independent
Angel Domingos None
Mike Duncan None Incumbent councillor[17][8]
Chris Ellis None Community lawyer[18]
Hemi Fermanis Real Talk, Real Change
Kathleen Filo Independent Incumbent councillor.[8] Also running for mayor.
Jaistone Finau None
Izzy Ford None Incumbent councillor[8]
Moze Galo None Incumbent councillor[8]
Geoff Hayward Labour Incumbent councillor[19][8]
Sharon Hilling None
Zac Painting Green Policy analyst and teacher[20]
Siobhan Samuel None
Ura Wilson-Pokoati Independent Also running for mayor
Yan Zhang Shared Kitchen and Sensory Hub Builder [21]

Pāuatahanui General ward

The Pāuatahanui General ward will return four councillors to the city council.[15]

Candidate[9] Affiliation[a] Notes
Brent Ching None Previously ran for council in 2022[22]
Phill Houlihan ACT Local Barber and law student[23][24]
Moira Lawler None Community advocate[25][26]
Ross Leggett Independent Incumbent councillor[8]
Paul Nation None
Aditi Tiwari Green[27] Student at Victoria University of Wellington[28]
Josh Trlin Labour Incumbent councillor[29][8]
Nathan Waddle Independent Incumbent councillor[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d 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.[10] Porirua City Council does not allow election slogans to be used for the affiliation.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Key dates timeline". poriruacity.govt.nz. Porirua City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Elections". www.gw.govt.nz. Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Representation arrangements". www.gw.govt.nz. Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. ^ Williams, Katarina (19 August 2021). "Major changes in way Porirua City councillors are elected set for consultation". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Porirua to retain Māori ward and go to a poll". poriruacity.govt.nz. Porirua City Council. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  6. ^ Murray, Anna (6 September 2024). "Māori wards deadline: Most councils stand firm, express frustration". 1News. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  7. ^ Wong, Justin (29 May 2025). "Porirua voters to have their say on region-wide council amalgamation". The Post. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Your Councillors". poriruacity.govt.nz. Porirua City Council. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d "2025 Triennial Elections | Porirua City Council". www.electionz.com. electionz.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Pukapuka Aratohu Kaitonopōti | Candidate Handbook" (PDF). storage.googleapis.com. Porirua City Council. p. 12. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Stand | E tū". poriruacity.govt.nz. Porirua City Council. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  12. ^ James, Nick (4 February 2025). "Are Wellington's council leaders running for the top jobs again this year?". RNZ. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  13. ^ Wong, Justin (28 January 2025). "Porirua mayor announces campaign for third term". The Post. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  14. ^ Wong, Justin (7 July 2025). "Porirua councillor announces mayoralty run". The Post. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "Find your ward". poriruacity.govt.nz. Porirua City Council. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Four candidates for mayoralty". Kapi-Mana News. PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Mike Duncan seeks second term on Porirua City Council". Porirua News. 13 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  18. ^ Wilson, Tim (17 August 2025). "Community lawyer Chris Ellis announces election run". Porirua News. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  19. ^ Wilson, Tim (17 July 2025). "Geoff Hayward running again in the Onepoto Ward". Porirua News. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Zac Painting for Onepoto General Ward, Porirua City Council". www.greens.org.nz. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Yan Zhang is running for election in the Onepoto Ward". Porirua News. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Brent Ching - Candidate for Porirua City Council - 2022". Policy.nz. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  23. ^ ACT New Zealand (25 June 2025). "Local Barber And Law Student, Phill Houlihan, Selected As ACT Local Candidate For Porirua City Council Election". www.scoop.co.nz. Scoop. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  24. ^ Wilson, Tim (4 August 2025). "Phil Houlihan – Candidate Profile for Pāuatahanui General Ward". Porirua News. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  25. ^ Wilson, Tim (14 July 2025). "Moira Lawler Launches Bid for Pāuatahanui Ward". Porirua News. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  26. ^ Lawler, Moira (1 July 2025). "Moira Lawler launches campaign for Porirua's Pāuatahanui Ward" (Press release). Scoop. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Aditi Tiwari for Pāuatahanui General Ward, Porirua City Council". www.greens.org.nz. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  28. ^ Laughton, Harriet (21 June 2025). "Fears for the would-be female mayors". The Post. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  29. ^ Wilson, Tim (18 July 2025). "Josh Trlin announces campaign for re-election". Porirua News. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
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