18 Nov 2021

Ex-Green chief of staff Tory Whanau to run for Wellington's mayoralty

6:40 pm on 18 November 2021

Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau has confirmed she'll run for Wellington's mayoralty in next year's local body elections.

Tory Whanau

Tory Whanau Photo: Facebook/Tory Whanau

She left Parliament earlier this year after working for the party as digital director and chief of staff for six years.

While she is yet to formally launch her campaign, Whanau says her priorities include fixing the Capital's infrastructure, housing accessibility and developing a post-pandemic recovery plan for the city.

She also wants to find ways to make Wellington safer and to consult with Wellingtonians and iwi "to ensure all voices are at the table."

"As our issues start to escalate over the years, we're going to need a new type of leadership. Someone who knows how to bring people together and get things done.

"I'm known to be a bit of a coalition builder so I think I could really add value and help bring our councillors together to really get our projects moving and accelerate them where we can."

She intends to run as an independent candidate.