Peter Wakeman
Peter Keith Wakeman (born 1959/1960) is a New Zealand perennial candidate and former pilot. He has run for parliament in by-elections four times and for Mayor of Christchurch six times.
Early life
Wakeman was born in Christchurch[1] and educated at Cathedral Grammar School and Christ's College. He claims to have retired in 1991 after a career as a pilot with Singapore Airlines.[2][3]
Political career
The first election Wakeman contested was the 1993 Tauranga by-election, which was triggered by National MP Winston Peters resigning to run as an independent. Wakeman, also an independent, advocated for a compulsory savings scheme, ending goods and services tax refunds on prepaid travel to New Zealand, improving sex education standards and changing the electoral system to Single transferable vote. He also favoured increased spending on health and education with decreasing spending on defence.[4] Peters was easily re-elected, Wakeman coming third place with 1.5% of the vote.
He contested the 1998 Christchurch mayoral election under the banner of "Save Assets Spend Wisely". He concurrently ran for the Christchurch City Council in the Fendalton Ward. He received 904 and 487 votes respectively.[5]
In 2004, Labour MP Tariana Turia resigned in order to contest the Te Tai Hauāuru electorate under her newly-formed Māori Party. Wakeman ran in the by-election as an independent but aligned himself with Labour.[6] He came in fourth place with 1.02%.[7]
He ran again for Christchurch mayor and the Fendalton-Waimairi ward in the 2007 election, receiving 1,868 and 1,671 votes respectively.[8] He ran again in the 2010 election and, despite a poll in which 17 percent of undecided voters said they would consider him,[9] performed worse, receiving 281 and 485 votes respectively. He did fare better in the election for the Fendalton-Waimairi Community Board with 3,997, but still failed to be elected.[10] In 2010 he also contested the Waimakariri District mayoralty, coming fourth place with 391 votes.[11]
In the 2013 Christchurch mayoral election, Wakeman gained attention and condemnation by disrupting the campaign launch of Lianne Dalziel, having to be physically restrained.[12] Despite his claims that this helped his campaign,[2] he polled less than 1%[13] and on election day received 0.38%.[14]
He contested the 2017 Mount Albert by-election triggered by the resignation of Labour MP David Shearer. His policies included setting the retirement age at 55.[15] He received only 30 votes.[16]
He intended to contest the 2018 Northcote by-election triggered by the resignation of National MP Jonathan Coleman, however he withdrew in May and endorsed Democrats candidate Tricia Cheel.[17]
He returned to Christchurch politics in the 2019 Christchurch mayoral election, under the banner "STOP Trashing Our Planet", also standing again in the Fendalton Ward. He received 815 and 590 votes respectively.[18] He also ran for the Canterbury District Health Board.[19]
In 2022, he announced he would contest Tauranga again after the resignation of National MP Simon Bridges triggered a by-election. He said he thought his chances of success had "never been so high", citing dissatisfaction over homelessness, poverty and other social issues.[20] He received just 20 votes.[21]
Wakeman again ran for mayor of Christchurch in the 2022 Christchurch mayoral election. During the campaign he revealed that he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, and claims a mask exemption.[22] He placed seventh with 0.81% of the vote.[23]
On 3 November 2022, Wakeman was announced as a candidate in the 2022 Hamilton West by-election for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, of which he is a member despite not being a user of cannabis.[24]
Political views
In 2007 Wakeman described himself as a Labour voter, however in 2005 election he voted for the Green Party due to his opposition to the Iraq War.[1] In 2017 he claimed to have previously been a member of the ACT, National, Democrat, Social Credit, Green, Internet, and Labour parties. Despite this, he never contested an election under any of those parties, though he did at one point seek Labour's nomination for Christchurch East, losing to Lianne Dalziel.[2]
He opposes the prosecution of whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, and has warned of government infringement of the right to privacy through mass surveillance,[25][26] as well as climate change disrupting food supply.[15][27]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2007 http://archived.ccc.govt.nz/Elections/2007/Candidates/PETER_WAKEMANb.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Conway, Glenn (3 September 2013). "Who is Peter Wakeman?". The Press.
- ↑ Law, Tina; Harris, Dominic (14 September 2019). "The 'other' contenders: 10 Christchurch mayoral hopefuls you hear little about". The Press. Stuff.
- ↑ MacBrayne, Rosaleen (16 April 1993). "Wide choice for voters". The New Zealand Herald. p. 9.
- ↑ "1998 Election Results" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2001.
- ↑ Wakeman, Peter (2 July 2004). "Peter Wakeman - Te Tai Hauauru Candidate". Scoop.
- ↑ "By-Election Results -- Te Tai Hauauru". Chief Electoral Office.
- ↑ Robertson, Max (17 October 2007). "2007 Local Government Elections" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2013. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Conway, Glenn (31 August 2010). "Anderton leads in mayoral race". The Press. Stuff.
- ↑ Sullivan, Clare (14 October 2010). "2010 Triennial Elections" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
- ↑ "Local Body Elections 2010 - Waimakariri". The Press. Stuff. 9 October 2010.
- ↑ "Mayoral candidate defends disrupting Dalziel campaign launch". RNZ. 2 September 2013.
- ↑ Turner, Anna (21 September 2013). "Dalziel in pole position". The Press. Stuff.
- ↑ Sullivan, Clare (17 October 2013). "2013 Triennial Elections : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Why vote for me? Mt Albert candidates in their own words". The New Zealand Herald. 20 February 2017.
- ↑ "Official Count Results – Mount Albert". Electoral Commission.
- ↑ Wakeman, Peter (11 May 2018). "Wakeman quits Northcote by-election 9 June 2018". Scoop.
- ↑ "Christchurch City Council 2019 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Christchurch City Council.
- ↑ "Canterbury District Health Board 2019 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Canterbury District Health Board. 17 October 2019.
- ↑ Conchie, Sandra (17 March 2022). "Tauranga byelection candidates step forward to fill Simon Bridges' shoes". Bay of Plenty Times. The New Zealand Herald.
- ↑ "Tauranga - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 1 July 2022.
- ↑ Law, Tina; Walton, Steven (3 September 2022). "A wizard, a pastor, and two retirees are among the lesser-known candidates vying for Christchurch's mayoralty". The Press. Stuff.
- ↑ "Christchurch City Council – 2022 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 14 October 2022.
- ↑ "ACT chooses sitting MP to join Hamilton by-election race". Radio New Zealand. 3 November 2022.
- ↑ (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2013 https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/The-Council/Mayor-Councillors/Elections/candidates2013/PETERWAKEMANM.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2019 https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/The-Council/How-the-Council-works/2019-Elections/Candidates/Wards-and-Community-Boards/CH011.20191012.Ward.241.20190828102407.PETER.WAKEMAN.profile-html.PROD.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2019 https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/The-Council/How-the-Council-works/2019-Elections/Candidates/Mayor/CH011.20191012.Mayor.101.20190828102758.PETER.WAKEMAN.profile-html.PROD.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help)
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