'I'm going to be the mayor, Mum': The moment Tory Whanau finds out she has won the Wellington mayoralty

Saturday, 8 October 2022

Tory Whanau is Wellington's new mayor. She says she plans to do whatever she can to make Wellington the best city it can possibly be.

Tory Whanau has claimed the Wellington mayoralty, becoming the first indigenous woman to lead the capital city.

She won in an STV-style landslide, with 14,000 more first-preference votes than the next candidates. Whanau announced the preliminary results on Saturday afternoon, three hours after polls closed.

“This is the best day of my life, but it just doesn’t feel real. I keep having to pinch myself … This is wild. We were doing this a year ago and just who would have thought I would actually be mayor of Wellington?” she said on Saturday afternoon, once she’d had the phone call.

This afternoon Whanau attributed the win to her positive, 'electric” and “people-powered” campaign. “That’s how the campaign cut through.”

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Tory Whanau calls her mum from her Thorndon home immediately after learning she won Wellington’s new mayoralty.

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“This has proved to me that it’s time for the next generation of leaders and that’s what the people want.”

“I am incredibly humbled to confirm that I will be Wellington’s next mayor,” she said in a statement.

Tory Whanau is Wellington's new mayor after a landslide win on October 8. Here she celebrates the win but she has been greeted to office with a raft of issues. (Video first published on October 8).

“Every day I will do what I can to make this the best city it can possibly be. A city with thriving communities that we can get around using reliable, low carbon public transport options, and where more of us have safe, affordable places to live.”

She was looking forward to building unity “with not just the councillors, but the organisation” and said she is excited to work with council chief executive Barbara McKerrow.

Whanau was the top Green Party staffer from 2017 to 2021, where she acted as an adviser to both co-leaders and played a key negotiation role with Labour and NZ First during the coalition government.

She has also won Lotto – becoming a millionaire at 20 after buying her first ticket in 2003.

Golriz Ghahraman and Stace Farquhar enjoy the moment at Tory Whanau’s Thorndon home immediately after learning she had been voted in as Wellington’s new mayor.

The 39-year-old was the first candidate to announce she would stand for mayor, challenging incumbent Andy Foster.

Her statement thanked him for his “dedication and service” to the city, and credited a grassroots campaign of positivity and a progressive policy platform for beating both Foster and the current Labour MP for Rongotai Paul Eagle.

“When we started this campaign, I was an unknown. But thanks to an awesome grassroots campaign, positivity, a progressive policy platform, and most importantly the people of Wellington, we have come out of nowhere to beat two high profile politicians. This shows people are ready for change.

“I am looking forward to working with everyone who has been given the privilege of representing our communities. Wellingtonians expect us to rebuild from the last three years and work together for the good of our city. I look forward to hearing everyone’s ideas about how we deliver the change people deserve.”

“My promise to Wellington is this: as your mayor, I will listen. I believe we can build trust in our system and bring our city on board. Together, Wellington will work towards a climate resilient city that looks after its community.”