2019 Wellington local elections
The 2019 Wellington local elections are part of the wider 2019 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. The Wellington elections cover one regional council (the Greater Wellington Regional Council), eight territorial authority (city and district) councils, three district health boards, and various local boards and licensing trusts. Greater Wellington Regional Council. Councillors standing down. By July 2019 four councillors had announced that they would not be standing for re-election to the Wellington Regional Council; Sue Kedgley, Chris Laidlaw, Ian McKinnon and Paul Swain. The GWRC has been "under  fire" for changes to the bus services, particularly in Wellington city. Hutt City Council. Councillor – Central ward (1). Incumbent councillor David Bassett was re-elected unopposed. Wellington City Council. Motukairangi/Eastern Ward Ward. The Motukairangi-Eastern ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. The incumbents were Sarah Free, Simon Marsh, and Chris Calvi-Freeman—Free and Calvi-Freeman sought re-election; Marsh did not. Free was re-elected in the first count, and newcomer Teri O'Neill was elected in the fourth (after the elimination of Ajay Rathod, Bernard O'Shaughnessy, and Steph Edlin, in that order). The final seat  was taken in the fifth count by Sean Rush, who had overtaken Calvi-Freeman after starting narrowly behind him. Paekawakawa/Southern Ward. The Paekawakawa/Southern ward returns two councillors to the Wellington City Council. The incumbents were Fleur Fitzsimons and David Lee—Fitzsimons sought re-election; Lee did not. Fitzsimons and newcomer Laurie Foon (from the same party as outgoing councillor Lee) were both elected in the first count. Since there were only two seats to be filled, no further counts were necessary. Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward. The Pukehīnau/Lambton ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. The incumbents  were Iona Pannett, Nicola Young, and Brian Dawson—all three sought re-election. Pannett and Young received enough votes in the first count to be elected immediately. Dawson lost his seat in the sixth count to newcomer Tamatha Paul, after all other candidates (Harry Smith, Lee Orchard, and Shan Ng) had been eliminated. Takapū/Northern Ward. The Takapū/Northern ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. The incumbents were Jill Day, Malcolm Sparrow, and Peter Gilberd—all three sought re-election. Day and Sparrow retained their seats (the former being re-elected in the first round). Gilberd was  beaten for the last seat by a newcomer, Jenny Condie, after the elimination (in order) of Tracy Hurst-Porter, John Peters, Graeme Sawyer, and John Apanowicz. Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward. The Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. The incumbents were Andy Foster, Simon Woolf, and Diane Calvert—all three were on the ballot again, although Foster's candidacy was superseded by his victory in the mayoral race, and his votes were redistributed according to next preferences. Calvert was re-elected in the first count. Woolf was re-elected in the seventh, after Ray Chung , Richard McIntosh, and Rohan Biggs were eliminated. Newcomer Rebecca Matthews was elected in the tenth, after the elimination of Conor Hill and over Michelle Rush, the other remaining candidate.