Tory Whanau has been elected mayor of Wellington. Video / Mark Mitchell
Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau has claimed Wellington's top job and will be the city's first Māori mayor.
Under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, Whanau romped home with a landslide majority of 16,426 votes over incumbent Andy Foster.
She wondered if it was a prank or a dream when she found out the election results on Saturday afternoon.
"I actually slapped myself because it was just so wild."
Whanau ran as an independent, endorsed by the Greens, and said her experience negotiating with New Zealand First meant she could bring people together.
She has been campaigning for almost a year, after announcing early on in the piece that she was running for the mayoralty.
Whanau would not be drawn on what went wrong for her fellow contenders, Foster and Rongotai MP Paul Eagle, except to say people didn't like to see them bickering.
"I don't like to kick a brother while he's down. My campaign was just quite different- it was very positive, it was very focused on the vision, it was a ground campaign."
NZ Herald journalist Georgina Campbell with the mayoral candidates on the campaign trail, from left, Andy Foster, Tory Whanau and Paul Eagle. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She planned to spend election night celebrating with supporters at an event in Wellington.
"We're going to celebrate, but not too hard because the job starts right away."
Whanau will be Wellington's first Māori mayor. She said she wished her koro could see her now, because it was such a significant moment for her whanau.
"I feel like we've reached a new era and it's going to be a great one."
Foster has been on Wellington City Council for three decades and became mayor in 2019 with a narrow margin of 62 votes over Justin Lester.
But it has been anything but smooth sailing for the experienced councillor.
Foster's council has been accused of in-fighting and being dysfunctional, with the situation deteriorating to the point he ordered an independent review of his own council.
Paul Eagle. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He congratulated Whanau on her win, saying there was a huge amount of work to be done for Wellington.
Foster said he has loved his time on council during which he has worked with five other mayors, five chief executives, and 65 other councillors.
"Every day has been about learning, about service and about making a positive difference. I have met so many wonderful people, made so many friendships, and these I will always treasure."
Eagle ran a "back to basics" campaign and pitched himself as a steady hand, but the results show he came in well behind the rest of the pack in fourth place.
He thanked his supporters, congratulated Whanau, and said he accepted the result of the democratic process.
"Wellingtonians have voted for change and it's now time for our new mayor and council to unite together to address the various issues facing our city."
Eagle said he would re-group with family and supporters to consider how best he could serve Wellington.
Meanwhile, progress results show Labour's Campbell Barry is set to return for a second term as Lower Hutt's mayor.
He has a lead of 1265 votes over former council chief executive Tony Stallinger, with 90 per cent of votes counted.
"I'm very happy and I think it's a pretty clear win and I'm really excited to work with one of the most progressive and diverse councils in New Zealand," Barry said.
Progress results have Campbell Barry in the lead to return for another term as Lower Hutt's mayor. Photo / Georgina Campbell
The rivals agreed before the election to have a beer together whatever the outcome. Stallinger has been elected as a city-wide councillor, so will still have a seat around the table.
