Local Elections

auckl-1.jpg

The mayor is important, but they can’t do too much without a quality group at the table. 

A staggeringly simple guide to voting for Auckland Council

Auckland has made painstaking progress toward becoming a functioning modern city. Now its councillors may put that in jeopardy for a proposal that will save ratepayers an average of 47 cents a week.

Idea: Let’s not mess up Auckland to save ratepayers 47 cents a week

Policy Article Illustration Alt Opt-23

Boomers versus zoomers, the great uncontested swathes, and what makes Greymouth special.

Policy Local: 10 things we learned from surveying thousands of local election candidates

There are still many barriers preventing people from voting in local elections. Laura O'Connell Rapira proposes some social solutions.

Postal voting is a flimsy antique. The future is social voting

New Zealanders Come Together For National Remembrance Service Following Christchurch Terror Attack

The big shock of the results in the weekend’s local elections was the unseating of Justin Lester as Wellington mayor. He writes on his experience.

Real leaders lift people up: Justin Lester on the Wellington mayoralty

A hand holding a black and white mouse and a tick for vote

Yes, there’s a problem, but we should regard any suggestion of a single, simple solution with deep suspicion.

Online voting as the big fix for low turnout is not a brainwave, it’s a brainfart

PhilGoffIV

Phil Goff was returned by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term?

10 questions with Auckland’s re-elected mayor Phil Goff

the redemption of the tron

The extraordinary battle for the Tron has ended in a way no one quite saw coming, with the city relinquishing its stranglehold on the title of New Zealand’s most embarrassing council. 

Cheat sheet: The remarkable redemption of Hamilton City Council

Aaron Hawkins

Dunedin's new mayor Aaron Hawkins is, arguably, the first to represent the city's student population as much as its older residents. We asked him ten questions about his win.

10 questions with Dunedin’s new Green Party mayor, Aaron Hawkins

winners and losers (1)

Hayden Donnell identifies who did well, and who got massively owned, in the 2019 local elections.

Winners, losers, big losers, and gigantic losers from the 2019 local elections

Andy Foster with Peter Jackson via facebook

In one of the biggest surprises of the local elections, Andy Foster has seized the Wellington mayoralty from Justin Lester.

Cheat sheet: Just who is Wellington’s new mayor Andy Foster?

LiveblogFeature

A festival of democracy is playing out around the country today, as voting closes in our local elections and preliminary results trickle out. 

Live blog: Results of the 2019 local elections

council

Sorry about not covering everything that happened these local elections. To make it up to you, we’ve compiled all the stories we missed into an ultimate election-ending list.

All the interesting, funny, weird, and bad things we didn’t cover these local elections

tina nixon feature image

Tina Nixon, Masterton mayoral candidate and chainsaw model, is leading one of the tightest campaigns rural NZ has seen. Josie Adams headed to the Wairarapa to meet her.

Chainsaw lessons with rates-slashing billboard idol Tina Nixon

RockEnrolLucy

The design of our cities can help shape our mental health. Lucy McLean puts out a call to vote for the politicians who'll build a city where people feel more connected to community.

On World Mental Health Day, a call to vote for more connected cities

alexb (4)

At the Horowhenua District Council, the last three years have been a tale of two mates against the world.

A beautiful local government friendship comes to an end

RaceBriefingPalmy

In our final local elections race briefing of 2019, Josie Adams (who is lame) visits Palmerston North (which is cool).

Race briefing: Palmerston North, the election that’s so thrilling it’s a crime

NorthCanterburyFeature

Two young candidates are trying to bring change to the staunchly conservative Waimakariri and Hurunui Districts in North Canterbury. But are their ideas truly new? 

The young candidates trying to take the reins in two of our palest, stalest councils

OneStopShopCouncil

Good: setting up places for people to cast a special vote while they’re waiting for their dumplings. Bad: those places running out of voting papers. Hayden Donnell reports on some trouble with Auckland Council’s one stop shops.

Not great: Auckland’s ‘one stop shops’ have been running out of voting papers

PoriruaMikeTanaFeature

In the final week of the local election campaign, Porirua mayor Mike Tana has been embroiled in yet another brouhaha around how he has spent public money.

Cheat sheet: The storm around the Porirua mayor’s spending

adammcgrath.jpg

'I want to check in at the pearly gates and have them say, ‘theres nothing left here, he’s worn to a nub, put it in the bin’.'

‘I prioritise the mission, not my health’: Adam McGrath’s perfect weekend playlist

FeatureImage_PetTherapy.png

'It’s just so lovely to see a dog again.'

The rescue dog bringing joy to Christchurch retirement homes

mssylog.png

The Friday Poem: ‘Bejeweled log’ by Holly Fletcher

Rec-Room-20-nov.jpg

The 2024 Christmas cliffhanger screens on Monday, and you can expect the final episode to be bigger and badder than ever before. 

The one episode of Shortland Street you need to watch this year

Bestsellers-of-2024.png

The bestselling books of the year, revealed.

The Unity Books bestseller chart for 2024

Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-9.48.49-AM.png

A couple of weeks after Spotify Wrapped comes a much more comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s listening.

The real NZ Wrapped: Analysing the 2024 NZ Music charts

teatalk-straight-fp.png

Bubbles, pearls or boba – no matter what you call them, they've taken New Zealand by storm. 

‘Just like the pie’: Bubble tea is here to stay

2NHmTkiD-HMH_FeatureImage-46.png

From Mansfield Park to Jurassic Park, some reading inspiration for every age.

A book for every year of your life: Part two, ages 31 to the grave

Stewarts-images.png

What you were reading, what you engaged with the most, and what you might see more of next year in The Spinoff's daily news wrap.

The Bulletin wrapped, 2024

Area man Hayden Donnell joins Toby Manhire for a bonus edition of Gone By Lunchtime, leading a whistlestop tour of the local elections.

strong

Fresh from an assignment in the Far North, the mayor of the Spinoff’s local elections pop-up section, Hayden Donnell, takes us on a journey from Kaikohe to Dunedin, stopping along the way in Hamilton, Auckland and Porirua.

And he gets fired up. Fired up for democracy.

The Spinoff

Local ElectionsOctober 7, 2019

Politics podcast special: Livin’ la vida local

Loading...

Local ElectionsOctober 7, 2019

Politics podcast special: Livin’ la vida local

More Reading

Loading...