Home sweet home: Leggett moves back
Nick Leggett has left the building.
After Wellington shunned his mayoral advances, the former mayor of Poriua has moved back to the city he left nine months ago.
In June, Leggett and wife Emily moved to the Wellington suburb of Johnsonville to contest the capital mayoralty.
He moved in across the road from the man who would eventually go on to win the mayoralty, Justin Lester.
It was the first time Leggett, who was Porirua mayor from 2010-16, had moved out of the Porirua area.
On Thursday, he denied he had slunk back to his hometown with his tail between his legs.
‘‘Some people might think that, but if I had been slinking I would have been a lot quieter about it,’’ he laughed.
After his election loss, Leggett - a longtime Labour Party supporter - announced he would try his hand at national politics, seeking selection as the National Party’s candidate in the Porirua seat of Mana, which had been a Labour stronghold for years.
It was a decades-long love affair with a Papakowhai home, not a political move, which brought him back to the city recently, he said.
‘‘It was a house I visited as a child and when it came on the market we just knew we had to buy it.
‘‘I’ve loved this house since I was 10 and Emily lived up the road when she was a kid and loved it too. ‘‘We have a growing family and Porirua City is a great place to raise them.’’
He confirmed he would contest National’s nomination for Mana but wouldn’t be drawn on the details.
‘‘There’s a process and that’s all I can really say ... they don’t like their selections to be done though the media.’’
Leggett, now a business consultant, said he harboured no bad feelings towards the city where his mayoral aspirations fell flat.
‘‘I don’t see the invisible wall between Porirua and Wellington.
‘‘I’m a Wellingtonian, whether I live within the boundaries of Wellington city or not.’’
Mana MP Kris Faafoi said he respected Leggett and had worked closely with him as Porirua mayor.
‘‘I’m just doing what I’ve done since 2010 and the community rewards hard work and commitment,’’ Faafoi said.