Wellington mayoral candidate Karl Tiefenbacher vows to resign if blocked by council

Wellington mayoral hopeful Karl Tiefenbacher says he would resign as mayor and ask the Government to call in commissioners to replace the elected council if he couldn’t implement his policies.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills, Tiefenbacher was asked by a caller if he would honour his campaign promises.

“In the event that you do not honour that manifesto, would you be prepared to resign after an allocated time frame?” the caller asked.

“Yeah, 100%, as far as I’m concerned, my only interest in doing this job is to get Wellington back on track and to make it the city, the great city it once was,” Tiefenbacher said.

“If I can’t achieve that, I have no issue with standing down, I’ll even ask for a commissioner if need be, mate”, he said.

After the interview, Tiefenbacher clarified to the Herald he would only resign and try to get the council replaced if things got to a point where it could not make effective decisions with a left-wing majority council.

Karl Tiefenbacher. Photo / Mark Mitchell

He then said it was not entirely “a left or right thing”.

“I think we can work with people on either side, [but] I think if it gets to the point whereby we’re making poor financial decisions still, because the council is maybe lopsided, then I would be happy to say, ‘look, if we can’t do better for the city, then I’m happy to say I will resign’”.

He said there were some on the left he could work with, but others on the “far left, which makes it more difficult to have rational conversations”.

Tiefenbacher, a centre-right pro-business candidate, announced his bid to lead the capital on Newstalk ZB in March.

His priorities include changing the culture of the Wellington City Council, keeping rates down, and stopping wasteful spending.

Asked by Mills what he would cut to stop rates rises, he said cycleway projects and the Golden Mile project would be on the chopping block.

Tiefenbacher, who calls himself “Wellington’s ice cream guy” as the founder of Kaffee Eis, has previously run for council twice and lost.

Last year, he fell short by only 45 votes to the Green Party’s Geordie Rogers in a byelection for the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward.

His biography states Tiefenbacher was born and raised in Wellington and had “a successful career in the finance sector for 18 years” before starting cafe and gelato manufacturer Kaffee Eis.

Wellington City Council meeting at their chambers on The Terrace. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Issues at the Wellington City Council came to a head late last year when its Long Term Plan was passed. The Government stepped in with the appointment of a Crown Observer.

He ended his term in July this year, noting no further need for government intervention.

In 2021, then-Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta appointed commissioners to Tauranga City Council after an independent report found significant governance issues in the council and the resignation of three elected members, including first-term Mayor Tenby Powell.

Wellington’s mayoral race has already been plagued by scandal, legal threats, and claims of dirty politics.

Tiefenbacher is running for mayor against Alex Baker, Andrew Little, Diane Calvert, Donald McDonald, Joan Shi, Josh Harford, Kelvin Hastie, Ray Chung, Rob Goulden, Scott Caldwell, and Pennywize the Rewilding Clown.

Voting has been open since September 9 and closes at noon on Saturday, October 11. Provisional results will be released the same day, with the final results declared on October 16.

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.