Ray Chung sent the email with nasty allegations about Whanau in it to three fellow Wellington councillors, but never asked her about the story or verified the gossip with the original source. Photo: Supplied
It was heading towards the most boring mayoral campaign in the country - now Wellington's race has turned chaotic with a backfiring bombshell of an email.
It was shaping up to be a rather dull, straight-forward mayoral race.
Current Wellington mayor Tory Whanau had quietly opted not to re-stand, without fuss, making room for a new frontrunner in former Labour minister Andrew Little.
The focus was on rate rises, the golden mile, bike lanes, and restoring faith in council leadership.
It was safe, steady, and, well, a little dry.
But now the capital's mayoral contest has morphed into something else entirely - a bare-knuckle political brawl, drenched in scandal and whispers of dirty politics.
"It's just sordid and it's just a bit gross and it's very high school," Joel MacManus, the Wellington editor of the left-leaning The Spinoff, tells The Detail.
At the centre of the latest firestorm is mayoral candidate Ray Chung, a self-described straight-shooter whose campaign took a serious hit last week when a leaked email he had written surfaced - one that critics say paints a picture of his manipulation, smear tactics, and a political hit job.
"I think Chung is an erratic figure. I've described him as Trump without the tactics, Winston Peters without the wit, and Wayne Brown without the brains," says MacManus, who has been watching the unfolding scandal closely and has written opinion pieces on it.
When asked if the email scandal could be called dirty politics, MacManus replied: "You certainly can, but if we are talking about the origin of dirty politics in the way we talk about it, that Nicky Hager book, that was a type of politics that had strategy and tactics and underhandedness. This is, you know, a lot clumsier and stupider than that."
Chung sent the email with nasty allegations about Whanau in it to three fellow Wellington councillors, but never asked her about the story or verified the gossip with the original source.
Whanau says it is not true; she can prove she was elsewhere on the night named; and she's seeking legal action.
The email was leaked to her and she handed it over to the media last week to highlight the abuse she and other female politicians endure.
The mayoralty race was now spiced up, front-page news.
"Well, the bizarre thing is, it's simultaneously the most boring campaign and the most chaotic one," says MacManus.
"Andrew Little could very easily walk this in without proposing anything particularly controversial, without any particularly notable policies, so, in one way it's dull, and yet in another way, it's going to be fascinating because I think there's going to be a lot more rocky stuff to happen, I think there's going to be a lot more interesting chaos and scandals along the way.
"I think it is going to be a fun one to watch, even if the outcome is fairly predictable."
The email cost Chung an important backer, with rich-list philanthropist Sir Mark Dunajtschik officially withdrawing his support for the mayoral candidate.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has also waded into the scandal, condemning Chung's comments.
"That was unacceptable content in that email, really pretty vile and unacceptable stuff," Luxon said.
Chung has since apologised to Whanau in an email. In a video released to social media, he admitted he had regrets, but he also claimed to now be a victim in the scandal.
But MacManus expects more "dirty politics" in the coming weeks.
"I am absolutely expecting more to come out.... just because I think there is a very strong chance that Ray Chung, just knowing who he is as a person and a candidate, will continue to do things like this."
Now, as the campaign heats up, the stakes could not be higher. Wellington is not just choosing a mayor. It is choosing what kind of city it wants to be - principled or pragmatic, progressive or proven, forgiving or fed-up.
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