A keen cyclist, she biked to Wellington Airport to greet former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010.
Wade-Brown also led the charge for more cycleways across the city and copped plenty of heat over the Island Bay cycleway debacle.
In 2017, she moved to Wairarapa and lives in a solar-powered tiny house where she has continued her commitment to active modes of transport by starting the Wairarapa Walking Festival.
Wade-Brown said people need to get out to vote as the polls are not a foregone conclusion, but she was excited by the prospect of how many Green MPs might get in.
“The issues that we represent of ending poverty and taking bold climate action resonate with a lot of people.
“The real poll is the one not just on the night but after the specials have been counted as well.”
When Wade-Brown was first elected as mayor, beating incumbent Kerry Prendergast, she only got in after the special votes were counted.
Life in her tiny house on the edge of Tararua Forest Park has provided Wade-Brown with a good break from politics.
“But I’m ready to be part of the team.... I will still spend my time in the Wairapara as well as over the hill if I’m fortunate enough to be elected.”
She plans on spending election night at a shed party- in keeping with the rural communities in the electorate she is standing in.
Foster was Wellington’s mayor from 2019-2022, is ranked seventh on NZ First’s party list, and is standing in Mana.
He won the mayoralty in 2019 with a slim majority of 62 votes in a shock victory over incumbent Justin Lester.
Foster went on to preside over a divided council and resorted to calling in an independent reviewer to try to sort things out.
During his tenure, the council started to address the city’s crumbling water pipe crisis, secured a sustainable future for the council’s cash-strapped social housing portfolio, and decided to earthquake-strengthen the central library.
Foster has previously told NZME he felt most New Zealanders “think we’re going in the wrong direction”.
“Clearly there’s a desire for change, but also there’s concern that that change can go too far.”
He said NZ First was a good party to moderate that change.
Foster said he had dealings with many different parties over the years, including working for the National Party years ago, “but I am really, at heart, a centrist”.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
