Lemauga Lydia Sosene
Lemauga Lydia Sosene (born 14 April 1965) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. She has been a member of the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board since the October 2010 local elections and is expected to become a Member of Parliament in 2022, succeeding Louisa Wall. Personal life. Sosene's parents both emigrated from Samoa to New Zealand in the 1950s. Her father was a founding minister of the Congregational Christian Church in Samoa (EFKS) in Ōtara. Sosene was born in South Auckland in 1965, where she grew up. At some point, her family lived in Henderson in  west Auckland. Married to Afoataga Sosene, they live in Favona. Political career. Sosene joined the Labour Party in 2000. She was first elected to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board in the 2010 local elections. She was re-elected in the 2013 local elections and 2016 local elections. The board elected her chair in 2013 and returned her to that position in 2016. In her role as chair of the board, Sosene has spoken about the impact of overcrowded housing on Pasifika, and the benefit to Samoans in Auckland of a rise in the minimum wage. She supported the extension of  Auckland light rail through the Māngere town centre. At the 2017 general election, Sosene was a list-only candidate placed 44th on the Labour Party list. Labour did not win sufficient representation for Sosene to be elected. At the 2020 general election, Sosene was again a list only candidate for the Labour Party, ranked 54th. Although Labour won more than 63 seats, the election of twelve lower-ranked or unranked constituency candidates prevented Sosene's election at that time; however, she was still invited to participate in the new MP induction process while waiting for the special votes to be  counted. She is the highest-ranked Labour list candidate who was not elected at the election and is expected to become a Member of Parliament when list MP Louisa Wall resigns effective 1 May 2022.