Long-time land surveyor Phil Rhodes has entered the race for the Greater Wellington Regional Council, seeking to represent the Porirua–Tawa constituency in this year’s local body elections.
Rhodes, who is married to Porirua Mayor Anita Baker, says their shared interest in local government doesn’t mean their campaigns are linked.
“Anita and I have always had our own perspectives and work in completely different parts of the system,” Rhodes said. “She’s the mayor of the city, I’m running for regional council and a constituency that covers Porirua and a part of Wellington City — different jobs, different conversations, entirely separate entities.”
With a career that spans both public and private sectors, Rhodes says he’s motivated by a desire to improve transparency and performance at the regional level.
“The Greater Wellington Regional Council has been able to increase rates by a staggering 55 percent over the last three years — that’s the second-highest cumulative increase in the country,” he said. “It’s time we had people on the council asking harder questions and pushing for real value for money.”
Rhodes is campaigning on three core priorities: transport, the environment, and housing.
On public transport, he advocates for routes that serve the most people efficiently and wants to ensure Porirua and Tawa residents get reliable, affordable services.
To protect local waterways, Rhodes backs planting catchment areas and preventing sediment runoff, which he says will reduce flood risk and improve harbour health.
For housing, he supports planning that promotes growth along rail corridors while cutting red tape to make new builds more affordable.
“I’m looking forward to meeting as many people in Tawa and Porirua as I can over the weeks ahead,” he said. “I understand local government and I want to be a community voice at the regional table.”