2025 Whanganui District Council election
Elections in New Zealand
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The 2025 Whanganui District Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in the Whanganui District of New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.
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11 October 2025
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| Turnout | 17,024 (50.10%) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Mayoral election | |||||||||||||||||||||
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12 seats on the Whanganui District Council 7 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Voters elected the mayor of Whanganui, 12 district councillors, and other local representatives for the 2025–2028 term of the Whanganui District Council. Postal voting and the first-past-the-post voting system were used.
The council voted to introduce a Māori ward at this election; its future was decided in a referendum on the issue, as part of a nation-wide series of referendums.
Incumbent mayor Andrew Tripe was re-elected to a second term.
Key dates
- 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates opened
- 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates closed at 12 pm
- 9 September 2025: Voting documents were posted and voting opened
- 11 October 2025: Voting closed at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results published
- 16–19 October 2025: Final results declared.[1][2]
Background
Positions up for election
Voters in the district elected the mayor of Whanganui, 12 councillors in 2 wards, and the members of the Rural Community Board.[a][3] They also elected members of the Horizons Regional Council.[b][2][4]
Campaign
Mayor
In early October, incumbent mayor Andrew Tripe drew controversy when he attended a candlelit vigil for American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, following said activist's assassination. Tripe said he regretted his comments at the vigil, saying he "naïvely" went to the event after being invited and that he did not know that Kirk was a divisive figure. He was quoted as saying that "Charlie Kirk shed his blood for us" and that "it is our call to act on what Charlie Kirk was doing, boldly."[5]
List of candidates
Incumbents not seeking re-election
Mayor
| Candidate[8] | Photo | Affiliation[c] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Chandulal-Mackay | A New Generation of Leadership | Councillor since 2016.[10] Also ran for re-election as a councillor in the general ward. | ||
| Gregory McPhee | None | Also ran to be a councillor in the general ward | ||
| Peter Oskam | Community before Coin | Councillor since 2022.[6][11] Also ran for re-election as a councillor in the general ward. | ||
| Andrew Tripe | .jpg) |
Let's keep Whanganui moving forward | Mayor since 2022[6][12] | |
Councillors
Whanganui Māori ward
Whanganui Māori ward returned two councillors to the district council.[3][13]
| Candidate[8] | Affiliation[c] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiritahi Firmin | Independent | ||
| Julie Herewini | None | ||
| Geoff Hipango | None | ||
| Hayden Potaka | Independent | ||
| Phil T Reweti (Bear) | None | ||
Whanganui General ward
Whanganui General ward returned ten councillors to the district council.[3][13]
| Candidate[8] | Affiliation[c] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippa Baker-Hogan | Ratepayer & Sport focused | Incumbent councillor[14] | |
| Jason Bardell | Back to Basics | ||
| Glenda Brown | Independent | Councillor since 2022[6][14] | |
| Josh Chandulal-Mackay | A New Generation of Leadership | Incumbent councillor since 2016.[10] Also ran for mayor. | |
| Julian Emmett | None | ||
| Ross Fallen | Independent | Councillor since 2022[6][14] | |
| Awhi Haenga | None | Green endorsed[15] | |
| Mike Hos | A voice for our city's future | ||
| Tracey Jarman | Rates & Community focused | ||
| Kate Joblin | Independent | Councillor since 2016[6][14] | |
| Sandra Isobel Kyle | Animal Justice Party of Aotearoa NZ | [16] | |
| Michael Law | Independent | Councillor since 2022[6][14] | |
| Gregory McPhee | None | Also ran for mayor | |
| Charlotte Melser | Independent | Councillor since 2022[6][14] | |
| Michael Organ | Whanganui First | Subject of the David Farrier documentary Mister Organ[17] | |
| Rob Oscroft | Focus Whanganui | ||
| Peter Oskam | Community before Coin | Also standing for mayor. Councillor since 2022.[6][14] | |
| Scott Phillips | Every cent counts, every voice matters | ||
| Jay Rerekura | None | ||
| Tony Sundman | None | ||
| Rob Vinsen | Ratepayer focused | Councillor since 2008[6][14] | |
| Robin Westley | Independent | ||
| Azian Z. | Real solutions for Whanganui | ||
Results
Overall turnout was 50.32%, with 17,024 voting papers returned.[18]
With the final results, the following candidates were declared elected:[18]
Mayor
Incumbent mayor Andrew Tripe was re-elected to a second term.[19]
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Andrew Tripe† | 9,147 | 53.73 | |
| Independent | Josh Chandulal-Mackay | 5,286 | 31.05 | |
| Independent | Peter Oskam | 1,895 | 11.13 | |
| Independent | Gregory McPhee | 295 | 1.73 | |
| Informal | 24 | 0.14 | ||
| Blank | 377 | 2.21 | ||
| Turnout | 17,024 | 50.10 | ||
| Registered | 33,978 | |||
| Independent hold | ||||
| † incumbent | ||||
Council
Whanganui General Ward
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Michael Law† | 8,990 | ||
| Independent | Josh Chandulal-Mackay† | 8,712 | ||
| Independent | Kate Joblin† | 8,617 | ||
| Independent | Rob Vinsen† | 8,226 | ||
| Independent | Charlotte Melser† | 7,773 | ||
| Independent | Glenda Brown† | 7,134 | ||
| Independent | Philippa Baker-Hogan† | 6,836 | ||
| Independent | Mike Hos | 6,802 | ||
| Independent | Peter Oskam† | 6,032 | ||
| Independent | Ross Fallen† | 5,868 | ||
| Independent | Rob Oscroft | 5,304 | ||
| Independent | Jay Rerekura | 5,168 | ||
| Independent | Tracey Jarman | 3,896 | ||
| Independent | Jason Bardell | 3,853 | ||
| Independent | Scott Phillips | 3,767 | ||
| Independent | Tony Sundman | 3,227 | ||
| Independent Green | Awhi Haenga | 3,053 | ||
| Independent | Azian Z | 2,662 | ||
| Independent | Julian Emmett | 2,272 | ||
| Independent | Michael Organ | 1,915 | ||
| Independent | Robin Westley | 1,828 | ||
| Animal Justice | Sandra Kyle | 1,823 | ||
| Independent | Gregory McPhee | 1,460 | ||
| Informal | 46 | |||
| Blank | 107 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Registered | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent gain from Independent | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Independent hold | ||||
| † incumbent | ||||
Whanganui Māori Ward
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Julie Herewini | 1,122 | ||
| Independent | Geoff Hipango | 922 | ||
| Independent | Kiritahi Firmin | 638 | ||
| Independent | Hayden Potaka | 558 | ||
| Independent | Phil Reweti | 403 | ||
| Informal | 0 | |||
| Blank | 21 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Registered | ||||
| Independent win (new ward) | ||||
| Independent win (new ward) | ||||
Māori Ward Poll
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I vote to keep the Māori ward | 8,292 | 52.63 | |
| I vote to remove the Māori ward | 7,462 | 47.37 | |
| Total | 15,754 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 15,754 | 92.54 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,270 | 7.46 | |
| Total votes | 17,024 | 100.00 | |
| Source: [18] | |||
| Māori ward referendum results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| Keep 8,292 (52.6%) |
Remove 7,462 (47.4%) |
| ▲ 50% | |
See also
Notes
- 2 members in the Whanganui subdivision.
- 2 members in the Kaitoke subdivision.
- 2 members in the Kai Iwi subdivision.
- 2 members from the district in the Whanganui constituency.
- 1 member partially from the district in the Raki Māori constituency.
- A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party. Whanganui District Council does not allow whānau, hapū, or iwi details to be used for the affiliation.[9]