Who’s Been To Council?

Darcy Lawrey (he/him)

This week, Salient asked candidates running for Wellington City Council a simple question: have you ever attended a council meeting? If so, what were your impressions? Here’s how their responses broke down:

Never Attended

Andrew Little, prominent mayoral candidate, has never attended a council meeting. He emphasized his experience with the skills “needed to be mayor”, including “analysing complex documents,” and cited his previous work at “the highest levels of government”.

Alex Baker, also running for major, told Salient last week that he has not attended a council meeting. However, after researching the council process, he was struck by the apparent lack of trust around the council table.

Joan Shi, standing for the Mayoralty and in the Northern General Ward, said she doesn’t recall attending a council meeting in person. She expressed doubt about whether the council “truly listens”, which has discouraged her from  attending—though she has submitted written feedback on the Long Term Plan.

Sam O’Brien, Labour’s candidate in the Eastern Ward, says he’s watched numerous Council meetings online—but hasn’t attended in person. He describes the meetings as “pretty dry”, and believes they need to be more  accessible and engaging.

Ken Ah Kuoi, representing Independent Together in the Eastern Ward, has not attended a meeting. From watching online, he feels councillors “just rubber stamp whatever is presented,” and was “appalled” by what he saw as a “lack of understanding or experience.”

Tony De Lorenzo, Lampton Ward candidate, has not attended a meeting. He said that he tried watching online but found them too lengthy. 

Have Attended

Karl Teifenbacher, a mayoral candidate, has attended several Council meetings, particularly those concerning the Golden Mile and the sale of the council’s airport shares—both of which he opposed. He felt that “there was often a lack of attention paid to the public submitters.” 

Matthew Reweti, running against  current Mayor Tory Whanau in the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Ward, made an oral submission to the Council’s Long Term Plan in 2023 on behalf of the Te Ātiawa Fisheries Trust. He opposed the airport share sale, calling the kauapapa “important to our Trust as kaitiaki and for our relationship with Te Taiao.”

Jonny Osborne, the Green Party candidate for the Eastern Ward, has presented on the Long Term Plan and water management reform. His impression of the meetings is that, “while anyone can attend or present to these meetings, it isn’t a great way of engaging with the community.” He advocates for less formal, more inclusive ways of engaging with the public. 

Joy Gribben, Labour’s candidate in the Western Ward, says that attending meetings revealed that “often the elected representatives are not receiving all the information they would like.” As a former Principle Climate Resilience Advisor, she found Christchurch City Council to be more transparent, particularly on climate resilience issues.

Ray Bowden, ACT’s candidate in the Western Ward, attended in support of a proposed Inner City Bypass and felt that his views were heard.

Trish Given, running in the Eastern Ward, has attended meetings and found them “generally well-run and structured”. 

Andrea Compton, a Northern Ward candidate and former Independent Together member, has submitted multiple times. She described the council as efficient, with some councillors highly engaged.

Paula Muollo, Independent Together’s candidate in the Southern Ward, most recently attended council in support of the campaign to save the Begonia House. She described the council process as “very good”.

Afnan Al-Rubayee, Labour’s candidate for the Lambton General ward, has only attended council once—in 2021—but regularly watches meetings online. She’s concerned about accessibility and says she’s “committed to advocating for greater accessibility so that everyone [...] has a genuine opportunity to be heard and take part.”