National and Labour suggest Wellington deserves better than Ray Chung, but it’s up to voters

Senior National and Labour MPs have condemned Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung but stopped short of calling for him to withdraw.

Senior National and Labour MPs have slammed mayoral hopeful Ray Chung’s behavior as “pathetic” and “disgusting,” suggesting Wellington deserves better — but have stopped short of calling for him to withdraw from the race.

Chung hit national headlines on Friday morning after an email he wrote in 2023 describing an alleged sexual encounter involving Mayor Tory Whanau, which he heard about from his neighbor, was released. The email surfaced last week. Whanau rejected the contents of the email and said it was false and contained a “malicious and sexist” rumor.

Chung apologized to Whanau on Monday, but said the email’s release was a “blatant political attack” on the city’s Independent Together candidates.

National’s Chris Bishop said he was “embarrassed as a Wellingtonian” by the saga and described Chung, the main right-leaning candidate, as “appalling.”

Labour’s Ayesha Verrall said his actions were “absolutely not” appropriate for public office and questioned “who on earth is going to vote for this guy.”

But both MPs said it was up to voters to decide his fate, with Bishop calling the past week “very revealing.” Verrall said there are “better options out there” in terms of other right-leaning candidates, while Bishop said the right had some “soul searching” to do.

But Bishop rejected that the National-led Government had held Whanau to a higher level of scrutiny than it had other mayors.

“She has faced some criticism from some parts of this government, including me, for some actions. But that has nothing to do with what has happened here, which is a rogue councillor acting in the most weird way possible, frankly, and that has now become public. It’s nothing to do with this government,” he said.

Government ministers have labelled Wellington City Council a “shambles,” “shemozzle,” and “hotbed of meddling bureaucracy,” prompting the appointment of a Crown observer to oversee its long-term plan process.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has criticized the council’s performance, saying it has failed to deliver on its commitments to the people of Wellington.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tory Whanau has strongly denied the claims made in Chung’s email, calling the allegations “a smear campaign” and vowing to continue her work for the city.

As the debate continues, the focus remains on the voters of Wellington, who will ultimately decide the future of their city’s leadership.