Hutt City Council invites residents to take part in the Candidate Kōrero and Mayoral Debate on Monday 1 September at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

The event starts at 6pm with a Candidate Kōrero, a drop-in, expo-style session where residents can talk directly with council and mayoral candidates.

Electoral Officer Bruce Hodgins and Deputy Electoral Officer Kathryn Stannard will also be on hand with information about enrolment, ward boundaries and the voting process.

From 7-8.30pm, the focus turns to the Mayoral Candidate Debate, moderated by an independent facilitator. The four Mayoral candidates will answer a mix of community-submitted and facilitator-led questions. Residents can submit questions in advance here, as well as on the night.

Bruce Hodgins says the Mayoral Debate will be livestreamed on YouTube and recorded for viewing later. You can watch it live on the night here: https://www.youtube.com/@HuttCityCouncilNZ

"We invite the community to come to the Candidate Kōrero and Mayoral Debate or tune in online to hear more from the people who want to lead our city."

In a new initiative, short videos of the Mayoral and Council candidates can be viewed here: https://www.huttcity.govt.nz/council/elections/2025-local-government-elections/candidates-standing. They respond to questions on what they see as their top priorities, their skills and strengths, and reveal something voters may not know about them.

"We know voters often say it’s hard to choose who to vote for in local elections because they don’t know anything about most of the candidates. These videos will help people get to know a bit more about the candidates in their own time," Hodgins says.

The website also includes the profiles of the 11 candidates vying for six positions on the Wainuiomata Community Board. There is no election this year for the Eastbourne Community Board as the number of candidates matched the available positions.

• The following Council candidates are also elected unopposed:
• Harbour Ward (1 vacancy): Tui Lewis
• Northern Ward (2 vacancies): Andy Mitchell, Naomi Shaw
• Wainuiomata Ward (1 vacancy): Keri Brown
• Mana Kairangi ki Tai Māori Ward (1 vacancy): Te Awa Puketapu

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