Jan Tinetti will be heading to Parliament as a Tauranga-based list MP for Labour.
Jan Tinetti will be heading to Parliament as a Tauranga-based list MP for Labour.
The first time MP, who yesterday was packing her bags to fly down to Wellington today, said she was feeling excited and a "bit nervous" at the same time.
The principal of Merivale School was 15th on the Labour Party list and received 8841 votes.
Ms Tinetti improved on the previous Tauranga Labour candidate Rachel Jones' 2014 vote count by 2979 and gained the second-highest vote behind National MP Simon Bridges.
"It still feels a bit surreal in a way, and I can't quite get my head around what has just happened in such a short time. I keep saying to myself, wow. I think it's fantastic."
The support from the people of Tauranga in what has been a traditionally blue safe seat had been incredible, she said.
"I was up until 3am this morning (Sunday) still analysing all the voting statistics and found it hard to sleep as my head was still buzzing. Now the real work starts, but I'm really looking forward to it," she said.
Ms Tinetti will tender her resignation as principal today as she heads to Parliament for a new MPs' induction course and a meeting with Labour leader Jacinda Ardern.
Jan Tinetti is the new Labour list MP for Tauranga. Photo/George Novak
She was "a little disappointed" with the overall vote which put Labour behind National by more than 10 per cent but was pleased "strong campaigning" led to the party almost doubling its electoral results from the 2014 election.
"We've done really well. Last time we had just over 14 per cent of the party vote, and this time we're sitting at over 25 per cent.
"When you look at the local voting booths situation, Merivale was once again returned as a Labour booth and several others were quite close votes," she said.
"It's been a long and hard-fought campaign and we still have the special votes to come and the coalition negotiations, so all we can do is wait and see what happens."
Ms Tinetti said she hoped the specials favoured Labour, particularly in the Bay of Plenty electorate to help her campaign running mate Angie Warren-Clark get over the line.
"If they do, it would be the first time ever two women MPs from this area would be sitting in Parliament at the same time since Michael Joseph Savage's Labour Government."
Ms Tinetti's husband Dave Merton said his wife had wanted to make a change in Tauranga and she had.
"You can do so much as a principal and Jan wanted to go that extra step."
