Wellington Lambton Ward byelection: The ‘icecream guy’ challenging the city’s Green grip

If you haven’t heard of Karl Tiefenbacher, you probably will have heard of his Wellington cafe Kaffee Eis, known for its gelato icecream.

The 55-year-old is now trying his hand at politics by running in the city’s Pukehīnau Lambton Ward byelection after Tamatha Paul vacated her position as a Green councillor to become the MP for Wellington Central.

Tiefenbacher, who is running as an independent, and Geordie Rogers, the Green Party’s candidate, are considered to be the main contenders in the byelection, which is costing ratepayers $120,000.

Asked to describe his political leaning, Tiefenbacher said he was a centrist.

Wellington City Council Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward byelection candidate Karl Tiefenbacher serving an icecream at Kaffee Eis on Wellington's waterfront. Photo / Mark Mitchel

“I don’t think the council should be political in the slightest. I think every decision should be around what’s best for Wellingtonians.”

Nonetheless, Tiefenbacher finds himself in a highly charged political environment.

Wellington is out of step with the new National-led Government after Paul and Julie Anne Genter turned two safe Labour electorates Green.

Their rise to power follows the election of Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau who was the former chief of staff for the Greens and endorsed by the party for the mayoralty.

Asked whether he was trying to loosen the Greens’ grasp on Wellington, Tiefenbacher said he wasn’t focused on the left or right.

“I’m just focused on what’s best for Wellington, and unfortunately the policies coming out of the Green Party are not what’s best for Wellington.”

Tiefenbacher was concerned the city was in danger of becoming bankrupt and unaffordable.

“I just want us to stop wasting money that we don’t have on things we don’t need.”

He disagreed with spending on the council’s cycleway programme, which he described as a “massive amount of funds” being diverted away from investment in core infrastructure like water pipes.

In the first three years of the council’s incoming draft ten-year budget, the cost of cycleways to the council is less than $10 million annually and will be about $4m annually in the subsequent years of the plan. The council is considering spending $1.7 billion on water infrastructure over the same period.

Tiefenbacher also wanted to stop the project to pedestrianise the Golden Mile and said the $7.4b Let’s Get Wellington Moving transport plan should have been canned at least five years earlier than it was.

As for his main rival, Tiefenbacher said he was sure Rogers had the best of intentions.

“However, I don’t think he has the life experience, to be fair, to understand what those best decisions are. Everyone makes mistakes in our lives and we learn from them, and unfortunately, I don’t want him making mistakes with our money.”

Green Party candidate Geordie Rogers is best known for his position as president of Renters United.

Rogers, who is 24 years old, said Tiefenbacher’s remarks about his age were short-sighted.

“Politics isn’t a place that’s only for old white men - it can be for young people too. We’ve seen how effective young people can be in politics, with the likes of Tamatha Paul pushing through massive progress within the city council.”

Anyone who thought the Greens might be facing a backlash in Wellington probably never supported the party in the first place, Rogers said.

Rogers is best known for his position as president of Renters United and is passionate about building a denser city, where it’s easier to maintain infrastructure, and people have access to public transport to get around easily.

“We need to keep pushing in the direction of zoning for more if we want to actually be a city that’s affordable to live in in the future.”

He admitted lifting the planning levers to allow for more housing was not a silver bullet to getting more homes built, but said it was a good place to start.

Rogers does not live in the ward he is vying to represent.

This was the only time he had lived in Wellington and he hadn’t lived in the ward, he said.

Rogers rents in Island Bay due to budget constraints and the limited housing stock available at the time he was looking for a rental.

Other candidates standing in the byelection are Joan Shi, Zan Rai Gyaw, Peter Wakeman, Ellen Blake and Edward Griffiths.

Voting closes at 12pm on February 17.

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Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.