Andy Foster. Photo / Mark Mitchell
ANALYSIS:
Wellington mayor Andy Foster has confirmed he is running a mayor-or-nothing campaign in his bid to remain in the city's top job.
It's a high-stakes move as Foster has been at the helm of a council criticised for infighting and dysfunction.
It was widely speculated in the capital that if Foster was to run for the mayoralty again, he might also run in the Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward.
Having successfully been elected to represent that constituency for decades, Foster would almost certainly return to Wellington City Council as a councillor even if he lost the mayoralty.
It would after all be difficult for Foster to part with the council, where he has worked as an elected member for 30 years.
When Foster announced he was seeking re-election on Newstalk ZB earlier this month, he said his focus was on the mayoralty.
There was a lingering doubt over whether that meant he had in fact ruled-out running as a ward candidate as well, however Foster has since confirmed in black and white that it's a mayor only campaign.
He said it had been an honour to serve the communities of the Western and Onslow-Western wards for many years.
"It has been a joy to be able to make a huge difference to so many aspects across my local communities as a councillor, from parks and pools to Zealandia and the natural environment."
Foster said his focus was now on serving the whole of the city as the mayor.
"It is a huge privilege and I am very proud that under my leadership we have delivered an extraordinary amount despite almost certainly the most difficult collection of circumstances faced by any Wellington mayor for many decades."
Some might be surprised Foster is willing to risk it all after such a long time on council, but he obviously feels comfortable enough to go all-in (he also would have been criticised on the campaign trail for keeping the ward as a "Plan B").
Foster might see being the incumbent as an advantage.
His surprising victory against Labour's Justin Lester in 2019 also serves as a reminder that anything can happen in politics, especially when you least expect it.
Foster was more coy in the lead-up to that election and he announced a bid for the mayoralty on the last possible day before candidate nominations closed.
A lot of that timing was to do with getting the financial backing for a mayoral campaign.
It came in the form of famous film maker Sir Peter Jackson dishing out $30,000 through his companies- Weta Digital, Park Road Post and Portsmouth Rentals.
This time around, it's unclear where the money is coming from.
When asked by Newstalk ZB Wellington Morning's host Nick Mills whether he would have backing this year to the same extent as 2019, Foster said finance for his campaign was still a work in progress.
After a term in the top job and decades as a councillor, Foster certainly has name recognition and that counts for a lot in local body elections.
Certainly, some of that name recognition will be for all the wrong reasons.
The question is what Wellingtonians will associate Foster's name with when it comes to voting.
Andy Foster, the mayor who went on a $30,000 course and still ended up with a reputation for poor leadership over a divided council?
Or, Andy Foster, the nice guy who has served on the council for years and got dealt a bad hand?