Justin Lester (politician)

Justin Lester is a New Zealand businessman and local government politician. He was elected Mayor of Wellington City in the Wellington City mayoral election, 2016. Prior to becoming mayor he was Deputy Mayor of Wellington City from 2013 until 2016 and councillor for the Northern Ward since 2010.

Early life

Lester is from Invercargill, where he lived with his mother and two brothers in a state house.

Lester has an LLB and BA (German) from the University of Otago and a Masters of Laws (LLM) from the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

Career before politics

Lester has worked in property and asset management, and in commercial real estate.

He co-founded the salad bar chain Kapai in 2005.

Involvement in local government politics

During the 2013–2016 triennium, Lester was Deputy Mayor of Wellington City and a councillor for the Northern Ward. He also served as the Chair of the Governance, Finance and Planning Committee, and the Performance Review Committee of the Wellington City Council.

Lester has supported the Wellington City Council's support of the Living Wage campaign. He has criticised the Wellington Chamber of Commerce for signalling that it will take legal action against the Council for extending the living wage to security guards.

Mayor of Wellington City

In December 2015, Lester announced he was running to be Mayor of Wellington City on a Labour Party ticket in the October 2016 local government elections. He ran on a platform of completing Wellington projects such as the film museum, airport runway extension and a convention centre. The Labour Party planned to run a set of five candidates for Wellington City Council in the 2016 elections.

In March 2016, Lester announced he would be running for mayor on a joint ticket with Labour Party city councillor Paul Eagle, who would be deputy mayor. At his campaign launch in April 2016, he announced further policies and said he would: give first-home builders a $5000 rates rebate, introduce free entry for children under five at council pools, remove the fees businesses pay to have outdoor dining on public land, and address the council's "ingrained sexism" by employing more women in senior roles.

On 8 October 2016, Lester was elected Mayor of Wellington City, following the 2016 Wellington City Council election. Lester received 31,921 votes, former mayor of Porirua Nick Leggett gained 24,697, and former Onslow-Western Councillor Jo Coughlan gained 15,844.

In the 2016-19 triennium, Lester is the portfolio leader for arts and culture, major city projects, and governance, an ex-officio member of all Council committees and subcommittees, and the chair of Council.

Personal life

Lester lives in Johnsonville with his wife Elizabeth and two daughters.