2025 Whanganui District Council election

The 2025 Whanganui District Council election is an upcoming local election to be held from 9 September to 11 October in the Whanganui District of New Zealand as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters will elect the mayor of Whanganui, 12 district councillors, and other local representatives for the 2025–2028 term of the Whanganui District Council. Postal voting and the first-past-the-post voting system will be used.

2025 Whanganui District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →
Turnout	TBD
Mayoral election
Mayor before election Andrew Tripe Independent Elected mayor TBD
Council election
All 12 ward seats on the Whanganui District Council
Incumbents before election Affiliation Seats Change   Independents 12
Popular vote share of elected councillors by ward

The council voted to introduce a Māori ward at this election; its future will be decided in a referendum on the issue, as part of a nation-wide series of referendums.

Key dates

• 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates will open
• 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates will close at 12 pm
• 9 September 2025: Voting documents will be posted and voting will open
• 11 October 2025: Voting will close at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results will be published
• 16–19 October 2025: Final results will be declared.^[1][2]

Background

Positions up for election

Voters in the district will elect the mayor of Whanganui, 12 councillors in 2 wards, and the members of the Rural Community Board.^[a][3] They will also elect members of the Horizons Regional Council.^[b][2][4]

Campaign

List of candidates

Incumbents not seeking re-election

• Charlie Anderson, councillor since 2013^[5]
• Helen Craig, deputy mayor and councillor since 2013.^[5]
• Jenny Duncan, councillor since 2013^[6]

Mayor

Candidate[7]	Photo	Affiliation[c]		Notes
Josh Chandulal-Mackay			A New Generation of Leadership	Councillor since 2016.[9] Also running for re-election as a councillor in the general ward.
Gregory McPhee			None	Also running to be a councillor in the general ward
Peter Oskam			Community before Coin	Councillor since 2022.[5][10] Also running for re-election as a councillor in the general ward.
Andrew Tripe			Let's keep Whanganui moving forward	Mayor since 2022[5][11]

Councillors

Whanganui Māori ward

Whanganui Māori ward will return two councillors to the district council.^[3][12]

Candidate[7]	Affiliation[c]		Notes
Kiritahi Firmin		Independent
Julie Herewini		None
Geoff Hipango		None
Hayden Potaka		Independent
Phil T Reweti (Bear)		None

Whanganui General ward

Whanganui General ward will return ten councillors to the district council.^[3][12]

Candidate[7]	Affiliation[c]		Notes
Philippa Baker-Hogan		Ratepayer & Sport focused	Incumbent councillor[13]
Jason Bardell		Back to Basics
Glenda Brown		Independent	Councillor since 2022[5][13]
Josh Chandulal-Mackay		A New Generation of Leadership	Incumbent councillor since 2016.[9] Also running for mayor.
Julian Emmett		None
Ross Fallen		Independent	Councillor since 2022[5][13]
Awhi Haenga		None
Mike Hos		A voice for our city's future
Tracey Jarman		Rates & Community focused
Kate Joblin		Independent	Councillor since 2016[5][13]
Sandra Isobel Kyle		Animal Justice Party of Aotearoa NZ	[14]
Michael Law		Whanganui First	Councillor since 2022[5][13]
Gregory McPhee		None	Also running for mayor
Charlotte Melser		Independent	Councillor since 2022[5][13]
Michael Organ		Whanganui First
Rob Oscroft		Focus Whanganui
Peter Oskam		Community before Coin	Also standing for mayor. Councillor since 2022.[5][13]
Scott Phillips		Every cent counts, every voice matters
Jay Rerekura		None
Tony Sundman		None
Rob Vinsen		Ratepayer focused	Councillor since 2008[5][13]
Robin Westley		Independent
Azian Z.		Real solutions for Whanganui

See also

• 2025 Palmerston North City Council election

Notes

1. • 2 members in the Whanganui subdivision.
   • 2 members in the Kaitoke subdivision.
   • 2 members in the Kai Iwi subdivision.
2. • 2 members from the district in the Whanganui constituency.
   • 1 member partially from the district in the Raki Māori constituency.
3. A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party. Whanganui District Council does not allow whānau, hapū, or iwi details to be used for the affiliation.^[8]