Mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham gets ‘bribery’ warning

Friday, 30 May 2025

Mayoral and council candidate Graham Bloxham.

Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham has been warned he is using bribery in an online-video promising car parks for votes.

A video of Bloxham appears on the site Because Wellington Matters, a spoof of The Post, in which he says: “You vote for me you go in the drawer to win [one of] 100 car parks”. It is on a page titled “vote for Bloxy”.

Chief returning officer Warwick Lampp emailed Bloxham, warning him the statement amounted to bribery. Under the Local Electoral Act, those found guilty can be jailed for up to two years. The site also needed an authorisation statement, Lampp’s email said.

Bloxham copied The Post into his response to Lampp, which included the original email. He said his campaign would never bribe people, arguing the Because Wellington Matters site was “satirical”. He said he had taken legal advice and would not comply.

Cannabis entrepreneur Greg Misson, right, sees himself as the voice of reason at the Wellington Live network.

The Because Wellington Matters site also takes a swipe at rival mayoral candidate Andrew Little and incumbent mayor Tory Whanau: “Say no to a failed PM – MP & unionist who will hit repeat of WHANAU policies.”

Meanwhile, cannabis entrepreneur Greg Misson ‒ the self-proclaimed “voice of reason” behind Wellington Live ‒ has confirmed Bloxham remains the owner of the social media sites.

Speaking to The Post last week, Misson confirmed he was not ‒ as claimed by Bloxham ‒ running social media company One Network, which has a range of outlets including Wellington Live.

“Graham is the owner, but my skillset complements.”

In a text message The Post, Bloxham said he was a “content creator for ONENETWORK WELLINGTONLIVE”, that he did not control what went on the sites, and the owners were “global players” who he did not know.

In a follow up message he maintained he was not the owner.

Meanwhile, Bloxham appeared in Wellington District Court on Thursday, charged with failing to stop for police.

Bloxham, 56, was charged after an alleged incident in Wellington on May 2.

The charge was failing to stop when he was followed by an enforcement officer driving with flashing blue and red lights or sounding a siren.

He did not enter a plea and the case was adjourned to June 13 to speak to his lawyer.

According to the police charging document he faces a maximum penalty of $10,000 fine, if convicted. Because the only penalty is a fine he did not have to enter the dock.