• The Labour Party has extended nominations for Wellington’s mayoralty, unable to find a candidate to challenge Tory Whanau.
• Chris Hipkins suggested he is open to endorsing an independent candidate, saying Wellington needs “a really good shake-up”.
• While there are a number of confirmed mayoral hopefuls, rumours continue to swirl of potential candidates.

The Wellington branch of the Labour Party has confirmed it’s been unable to find a candidate to challenge Tory Whanau for the capital’s mayoralty, announcing it is extending nominations.

Wellington Local Labour has announced its list of candidates for Wellington City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, but notably absent is a name for the city’s top job.

It includes current city councillors Ben McNulty and Nureddin Abdurahman, who will run again in the Takapū Northern and Paekawakawa Southern wards respectively.

Afnan Al-Rubayee will run for the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward for a second time.

Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter will run again, alongside newcomer Tom James.

The party is also extending nominations for the Māori ward, Motukairangi Eastern ward, and Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward with no confirmed candidates as yet.

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins told Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills last week that while he isn’t actively engaged in Labour’s hunt for a candidate, he thinks the city needs “a really good shake-up”.

He said he’s open to talking to anyone who is keen to do that and would potentially endorse an independent candidate for the job.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins during his appearance on Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Asked whether a Labour candidate could win, given the recent success of Green Party candidates in Wellington elections, Hipkins doubted the Greens would retain the same level of success.

“That may have been the case at the last election, I’m not sure that’s the case right now”, he said.

Former Wellington Mayor Justin Lester was earlier this year floated as a potential contender after refusing to rule out a bid.

Lester said while he doesn’t intend to run, Labour has approached him about his potential candidacy and he’d “never say never”.

Former Mayor Justin Lester. Photo / Georgina Campbell

Labour Party president and former Deputy Mayor Jill Day said she is not considering running for the mayoralty.

Other confirmed candidates for the mayoralty include city councillor Ray Chung, predator-free champion Kelvin Hastie, Wellington Live owner Graham Bloxham, and former city councillor Rob Goulden.

Of the confirmed candidates, all but Bloxham have previously run for the mayoralty unsuccessfully.

Diane Calvert, a third term councillor and former mayoral candidate, is rumoured to be eyeing up running, telling the Herald she still hasn’t decided.

“As an independent, I’m not on a deadline set by a political party,” Calvert said.

Coucillor Diane Calvert says she hasn't decided yet, but is rumoured to be planning a campaign. Photo / Mark Mitchell

John Apanowicz, another current councillor said he’s still keen to run but is seeking the support of his family and will announce his plans at a later date.

Business owner Karl Tiefenbacher is also understood to be preparing a mayoral campaign but is yet to make an announcement.

He’s previously run unsuccessfully twice for the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward.

Karl Tiefenbacher is understood to be eyeing up the mayoralty. He has previously run for the Lambton Ward twice and lost. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Luke Pierson, a businessman and founding member of lobby group Vision for Wellington, had been rumoured to be considering a run for the top job, but has confirmed he’s not going for it.

“I can rule it out. My focus is on Vision for Wellington - which is inherently apolitical,” Pierson said.

A number of former high-profile politicians are members of the group, including former Mayors Dame Kerry Prendergast and Dame Fran Wilde, former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and property magnate Sir Bob Jones.

Prendergast is National Party-aligned, Wilde is a former Labour Cabinet minister and Jones founded the right-leaning New Zealand Party in the 1980s.

Former broadcaster Mark Sainsbury’s name has also been floated as a potential contender for the mayoralty.

He is yet to rule it out.

Sainsbury told Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills recently that he loves the idea of it but isn’t sure he’s the right person for the job.

“If I thought I could help Wellington, if I genuinely thought that, I would do it in a nanosecond.”

Close Up presenter Mark Sainsbury. Photo / NZME

But he questioned his own credentials.

“I’ve never run a business, I’ve never run a large organisation and we’ve seen what’s happened when someone comes into that job without that experience.

“As much as I love the idea of it, and I probably would love to do it, you’ve got to be honest to yourself about what your skill base is,” Sainsbury said.

Whanau is understood to be the only candidate in the Green Party to raise their hand for the nomination.

Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Thomas Nash has been floated as a potential Green replacement but has now ruled it out. He says he backs Whanau “100%”.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last week dubbed Wellington’s councils “lame-o” for not submitting a proposal for a regional deal with the Government.

In an interview with The Spinoff, Whanau hit back by criticising Luxon’s character, saying “I don’t think he’s a nice person”.

“Wellington is a Green city, and they’ve been picking on us since the beginning,” she said, referring to the Government.

She said her exchanges with the Prime Minister could benefit her politically.

“It works for me because a lot of people in Wellington don’t like him.”

Whanau also referred to her strained relationship with the Government during a podcast interview in September.

“Whether it’s in my head or not, I sometimes feel like Wellington City has a bit of a target on its back when it comes to the Government and so I have to be very careful not to enrage them or they’ll send in commissioners cos that’s the threat that is used on a weekly basis.”

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at [email protected].