List a candidate event
Wellington City Council welcomes community-led ‘meet the candidate’ events and Q&A sessions.
If you are organising a candidate event, you can have it listed on our website.
To let us know about your event, fill in our online form with the following information:
- Whether the event is for the mayoral election, a ward election, or a community board election
- The time and date of the event
- The venue the event will be held in
- Contact information for the event organiser (including organisation name, if applicable)
List an event
To notify candidates of your event, see candidate contact information on the ElectioNZ website:
Wellington City Council candidates | ElectioNZ
Please note contact details are provided by candidates and some candidates may choose not to share some contact details.
Guidance for hosting a community candidate event
To help your event run smoothly and support a positive experience for candidates and community members alike, here are some suggestions:
1. Event Structure
Decide how you'd like to structure the event, and communicate this to the candidates in advance — some options are:
- Event introduction, including emergency exits and venue facilities, the structure of the event, any ground rules etc
- Candidate introductions (consider giving a time limit)
- A Q&A led by the facilitator with each candidate taking turns
- A panel-style discussion with questions from the audience
- Smaller group conversations where attendees can rotate between candidates
- Closing remarks (consider giving a time limit if allowing each candidate to make a closing remark)
Whatever structure you choose, make sure it allows all candidates a fair opportunity to speak and engage with the public.
Try to give all candidates equal speaking time and chances to respond to questions.
2. Facilitator
Choose a facilitator who is politically neutral and can encourage respectful, well-managed discussion.
A good facilitator will:
- Stay neutral, respectful and calm under pressure
- Manage inappropriate or aggressive questions
- Help defuse any tense or inflammatory situations
- Have developed a plan, prior to the event, for how they will manage any unacceptable behaviour from candidates or attendees
To keep things fair throughout an event, moderators should give all candidates equal opportunity to answer questions and make statements.
It can also help to steer candidates away from asking each other questions because these can sometimes be personal, unrelated and move debate away from the current topic of discussion.
3. Respect and Safety
Aim to create an environment where candidates feel safe and respected — before, during, and after the event.
Be aware of the size of your venue and its maximum capacity – and also the number of organisers/helpers needed to maintain a safe space.
Support a setting where the public feel comfortable asking questions in a respectful way.
Have enough people on hand to assist with logistics or any unexpected situations.
The nature of political debate means you should always be prepared for strong opinions and the possibility of confrontation.
To minimise risk of an incident, make sure you have a confident, well-prepared moderator to control and steer the conversation in a safe direction if things get heated or off track.
Potential conflict can involve both audience members and candidates alike, so we recommend the moderator remind the candidates and the audience beforehand about what you expect in terms of behaviour.
Safety of all involved is critical. You will need to have a health, safety and security plan for any event and, in some cases, you may want to consider additional measures, such as hiring security staff.
4. Venue and Accessibility
Choose a venue that:
- Suits the size of the audience you’re expecting.
- Has accessible entrances, seating, and facilities for anyone who may wish to attend.
- Offers a layout that allows people to move around easily and exit safely if needed.
Contact us
Electoral Officials
Email: election@wcc.govt.nz