Rotorua Lakes councillor Fisher Wang. Photo / Mathew Nash
Rotorua Lakes councillor Fisher Wang has been the district’s highest-polling candidate at the past two local elections.
Now the 25-year-old hopes his popularity will translate to national politics as he announces he will run for the Rotorua seat in November’s general election.
Wang will be Labour’s candidate, trying to win back a seat that has evaded the party since National’s Todd McClay won it off Steve Chadwick in 2008.
McClay, a Cabinet minister with trade among his portfolios, is seeking a seventh term in the role.
Wang was just 8 years old the last time Rotorua had a Labour MP.
In 2019, as a 19-year-old, he went from working at McDonald’s to becoming Rotorua’s youngest-ever councillor.
He was decisively re-elected in 2022 and 2025.
Wang told Local Democracy Reporting he was confident he could run another successful campaign.
He said he would continue his duties as a councillor during the campaign, but would step down from local politics should he be successful.
“I’m no stranger to multitasking and balancing multiple roles,” said Wang, who is also a Rotorua Trust trustee.
“I plan to continue to commit to the job that our community voted me into, which is to work as a councillor for the district.”
He said he was ready for the challenge and the extra scrutiny that comes with a general election.
“I make sure I critique myself first because I know not everyone will agree with me,” he said.
Wang said he believes New Zealanders have had enough of “identity politics” and that he was ready to stop the finger-pointing and avoid constant party-dependent policy swings.
“Maybe I’m naive as a new candidate.
“But after six years on council, I know it’s important to have consensus on major issues like health, education and infrastructure.
“Constant pendulum swings have been detrimental to productivity, progress and efficiency, and it has cost money we don’t have.”
Wang said he believed Rotorua needed a stronger voice in Wellington on long-term infrastructure planning as the district grew.
He pointed to transport pressures and housing development as key challenges, arguing short-term political cycles had made it harder to deliver sustained investment in regional infrastructure.
Wang said he had previously been a member of different political parties – most recently The Opportunities Party.
He said Labour’s current policies align with his thinking – particularly its Future Fund and Medicard policies.
Wang supported his “great friend” and Rotorua Mayor, Tania Tapsell, when she ran for the National Party’s East Coast seat in 2020, but he said that was a “personal” show of support.
“There’s more to a person than just whatever party banner they run under.
“Our relationship is based on friendship, and that’s what I supported her on.”
He said he had received messages of support from fellow councillors after telling them of his decision at Wednesday’s council meeting.
Tapsell said she was “not surprised” to see Wang gunning for national politics.
“I’m absolutely delighted for Fisher.
“He’s been an incredible councillor, and we’ve had the privilege of watching him grow from a local leader to someone who’s also had great influence around the country.”
She said she had offered Wang advice and she was “confident” in his ability to continue in his councillor role while campaigning.
“It will be quite a challenge for him to take on a very experienced and astute MP and minister in Todd.
“But what is positive is that we have such great options available for us in Rotorua.”
McClay has been unanimously reselected as National’s Rotorua candidate, a Wednesday statement from its Rotorua Electorate Committee chairman Conan O’Brien said.
“Serving Rotorua, Te Puke, and the rural areas between is a privilege,” McClay said in the statement.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together, from reducing motel emergency housing to supporting tourism and securing trade gains, and I’m committed to continuing that work for the people of Rotorua and Te Puke.”
Wang was nearly joined by another Rotorua councillor on the campaign trail, as Raj Kumar flirted with the idea of running for NZ First selection.
The Rotorua constituency Bay of Plenty regional councillor said he ultimately decided to back McClay’s re-election campaign.
Candidate nominations open on September 7 and close on October 8, with election day on November 7.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.