Written By:
- Date published:
11:06 pm, July 12th, 2025 - 10 comments
Categories: Dirty Politics, local body elections, local government, Politics -
Tags: ray chung, the jackal, Tory Whanau, wellington
Republished from The Jackal with permission
In the murky world of local politics, few things reek as badly as Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung’s despicable conduct. His smearing email, circulated to fellow councillors in early 2023, peddling baseless and salacious gossip about Mayor Tory Whanau, is not just a personal attack, it’s a grotesque abuse of power that exposes his utter unfitness for public office.
Today, RNZ reported:
Ray Chung defends sending gossip about Tory Whanau to other councillors
Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung says, in hindsight, sending an email containing third-hand claims about a sexual encounter with mayor Tory Whanau might not have been the best idea.
Chung sent an email, seen by RNZ, to three fellow councillors in early 2023 recounting a story he had been told about Whanau by his neighbour about the neighbour’s son.
Whanau has declined to be interviewed, but in a statement said the claims were a “malicious and sexist rumour”.
“What’s deeply concerning is that some of the individuals spreading these harmful falsehoods are now standing for election,” she said.
“Ray Chung has circulated a malicious and sexist rumour – a tactic designed to dehumanise, wear people down, and discourage good people from standing for public office.
She said she was seeking legal advice.
Chung’s email, which falsely alleged Whanau’s involvement in a drug-fuelled sex scandal, is the kind of malicious, sexist tripe that belongs in the gutter, not the council chamber. This isn’t just a lapse in judgement; it’s a calculated smear that reveals Chung’s character as a petty, vindictive opportunist who’d rather sling mud than engage in substantive governance.
Let’s be clear: Chung’s email wasn’t a private musing. It was a deliberate attempt to tarnish Whanau’s reputation, sent to fellow councillors under the flimsy pretext of seeking their “opinions” about the then-newly elected mayor. His weak defence, that he was an “inexperienced councillor” unaware of the propriety expected of public officials, is laughable.
Chung, a sitting councillor for the Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward, isn’t some naive newcomer. He’s a seasoned operator who knew exactly what he was doing: weaponising third-hand gossip to undermine a female colleague. That he now claims “hindsight” and newfound “wisdom” only underscores his cowardice in refusing to own the malice behind his actions.
This isn’t Chung’s only misstep. His track record is littered with conduct that raises serious questions about his suitability for Wellington City Council, let alone the mayoralty. In April 2025, Chung skipped a critical council meeting to schmooze with donors at a “fancy lunch” for his campaign launch, prompting even his independent allies to recoil.
Mayor Whanau rightly called him out for prioritising wealthy backers over the community’s needs, a damning indictment of his skewed priorities. His campaign, bankrolled by rich-lister Sir Mark Dunajtschik, who decries Wellington’s “serious decline,” reeks of elitism, with Chung promising to slash council jobs despite admitting he doesn’t even know what many of these workers do.
This cavalier disregard for public servants’ livelihoods betrays a man more interested in grandstanding than understanding the machinery of local government. Chung’s affiliation with the “Independent Together” ticket, which has raised eyebrows for its ties to questionable figures and funding, further muddies his credentials.
His policy platform, touting “zero rates increases” and a “back-to-basics” approach, is populist propaganda that collapses under scrutiny. Wellington’s infrastructure and services are creaking; slashing budgets without a clear plan is reckless and reeks of pandering to wealthy ratepayers over the city’s broader needs.
Then there’s Chung’s cavalier attitude toward council processes. His absence from key meetings and his willingness to spread unverified gossip suggest a man who sees public office as a stage for personal vendettas rather than a duty to serve.
Wellington deserves better than a councillor who trades in misogynistic innuendo and prioritises donor lunches over civic responsibility. Tory Whanau, despite facing relentless abuse, much of it gendered and racial, has shown resilience, delivering on key projects like the Golden Mile and the Long Term Plan.
Chung, by contrast, offers only divisive rhetoric and a trail of poor judgement. Ray Chung’s actions aren’t just unbecoming, they’re a complete disgrace. His smear against Whanau, coupled with his cavalier conduct and questionable affiliations, paints a picture of a man unfit to hold any position of trust on Wellington’s council.
Voters should reject this purveyor of filth and demand leaders who elevate discourse, not drag it into the sewer.
I was going to write about this myself. But The Jackal said everything that needed to be said.
These sorts of people are so see through. They usually hoist themselves by their own words. In the interview on RNZ his phrasing was tragic.
This issue coming to light now is brushed off as it is just for political purposes. Whereas the original missive was a coming from a genuine interest of local democracy./sarc
He doesn't object to apologising, perhaps waiting on some polling to find out if he should?
Also the idea he is still learning what plain decency is about, maybe he should wait till he has a better handle on it, wouldn't want someone who is Mayor learning on the job
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/566607/ray-chung-defends-sending-gossip-about-tory-whanau-to-other-councillors
Definitely a typical product of the capitalism/democracy blend that has driven western civilisation towards disaster for the past couple of centuries – due to the mutual solidarity of leftist and rightist voters supporting that system! The situation is sufficiently Clintonesque that I rate the chances of someone calling it deplorable extremely high.
She could tell the media "I did not have sex & drugs with that particular male." Gossip tends to run best when everyone involved avoids telling the truth.
She could also inform the media that rocknroll was being played also, and sex, drugs & rocknroll remains a popular formula for 1970s nostalgia gigs with some younger folk.
Chung was probably intent on demonstrating his potential as a candidate for ACT, and will be rubbing his hands in glee due to the wave of publicity he's getting. Everyone knows outrage is the best way to game the system nowadays.
What Chung did, in my opinion, certainly puts him into the arse hole camp, although in saying that, we all have arseholes and I place a higher importance on mine than I do on Ray Chung. What comes out of it is more valuable than the "I have no idea what council staff do, but if elected I'd get rid of lots of them" kind of crap that comes out of Ray Chung.
That said, my real comment is that, what he said was bad enough, but what is worse is his current attempts to justify it.
Chung has just wrapped the election up for Little. Not such a good outcome…he seems to want to dump the excellent Golden Mile works.
The MSM hates the Greens….they clearly elicited Chung in their fight against them…Tory caught in the crossfire.
"The MSM hates the Greens…"
I think it is more to do with pandering to the CoC. I've never seen so much grovelling on the part of the MSM since this lot came to power. Its sickening.
I am wondering if anyone of the previous commentators is from Wellington?
TW has been regarded as a loose cannon for several/many? years. I voted for her an independent only to find she had actually deceived the electorate and was in fact a member of The Greens.
I would not have voted for her had I known she was actually running as a Green. This is because I have a particular view that local bodies are better with people with passion and will to do the best for the city and its citizens than a political person owing fealty to a political party.
I also voted for as a woman even though I realised, as you do when living in Wgtn, that she did not have a good reputation…open secret. She has courted controversy all the time, at first by alcohol disinhibtion, & the behaviours fuelled/associated with this.
I have the utmost kudos to her for recognising this.
I felt she could rise above this but she has not. She has been passing on these emails to all and sundry. So being a bit of a 'mean girl'. A better person would have said 'meh', 'who cares', 'obviously doesn't like me and you can't win 'em all'.
But since then with weirdo offerings ..so you want to have a workshop on Golden Showers (you read about it I'm not going to link to it) and need $150,000 to do this? roll up, roll up. We have multiple free WCC workshops for cyclists to do repairs, no doubt affecting the possible business of cycle shops etc. Councils should not be doing this.
I know I made a mistake voting this way.
I also made a mistake as she had no prior experience as a city councillor and I won't vote for a 'ring in' Mayor with no experience as a councillor again. (sorry Andrew Little)
She has chaired over a 'let them eat cake' council hell bent on rating many people out of existence in Wgtn. WCC would rather do this than trim its sails or budget according to what the revenue was.
She has got Wgtn off side with multiple govts, not just the Nats/CoL.
I know I made a mistake.
On the current kerfuffle…Wgtn is muckraking central now. It is sad and pathetic the muck that is being raked, the emails that are being found, the high horses that are being used. Supplies of 'butter wouldn't melt in the mouth' must be getting perilously low.
We have a number of good people standing for council of the type wanting to make Wgtn the best place ever for all its citizens. If we get a mayor like the last, ie Tory Whanau, with a compliant council, with fast and loose ideas to do with ratepayers' money, we will have a dead Wellington.
There are no Golden Geese any more, the ratepayers are mostly all broke now. Charisma is over rated.
I want boring, boring people who can manage money to fix pipes and roads, parks and libraries and blow the Golden Showers, the WCC funded Neighbours picnic morning teas, the cycle workshops …….
On re-reading the intro reprinted from The Jackal. Hyperbole will get you places, no doubt. And no doubt there are some weirdo things happening at the moment.
I wonder though if you are very close to the action in Wgtn or if you are even from Wgtn. It does not read as though you are. My view is that you cannot call a person a purveyor of filth when the 'filth' you are talking about may in fact be true.
No doubt she has not been the best behaved in public places late at night, she knows this, Wellingtonians know this. At the time when these emails were sent I think the stories about actions in bars and a restaurant were relatively recent.
Certainly knowing about this gossip was not a close kept secret.
And Tory Whanau visited a chocolate facory rather than attending a briefing about a Local Govt forum.
One of the perils of writing about current issues is that you can get out of date.
So the opening post is high on hyperbole and has left a void where careful analysis could have been found. Not what I value TS for I'm afraid.
I too could write an adjective filled rave on. The words of an English Professor repeat themselves 'beware of purple prose when you'd expect reasoned work, there is usually a reason for this'…..and 'you can pick purple prose because they usually over-do the adjectives
Some great examples in a great field……
Anyway good to see some poorly written purple stuff that can give my inner pedant a work out.
Perhaps someone could send on the post to an English professor for the students to analyse. All we got were OTT descriptions of the ill effects of boring legislation, and a foodstuffs article to divide the purple prose out from. This would be much more topical. (heavy sarcasm warning)
I’ve just read it yet again….it’s glorious, just glorious this adjective-filled rant. Surely though, most people can fathom out exaggeration and ask themselves ‘Is there a special reason for writing in this way’ and ‘What is it?’
Ring ring
Crosby textor here
Hi CT ray here. I need some help discrediting a political rival
Ok tell me about her
Well CT, she is female, brown and left wing
Perfect, just our type to try and discredit. Have you heard any gossip about her Ray
Um yup i heard some real dirty rumour about her from a guy in the pubs mates girlfriends hairdressers cousin, but I havent check it out or anything
No dont bother whether its true or not ray, we never do. Just spread the filth around
Oh ok CT many thanks
No probs Ray, this is our standard advice