Kerrin Leoni

Kerrin Leoni is a New Zealand politician who served as an Auckland Councillor for the Whau ward from 2022 to 2025. In 2025, Leoni ran for mayor of Auckland, but lost to incumbent Wayne Brown.

Early life

Leoni is of Māori and European descent. Leoni attended King's College London and received a master’s degree in economics and international politics. Leoni also has a master's degree, completed in 2007, from Auckland University of Technology. Her thesis was on young Māori children leaving foster care in New Zealand. Leoni spent 10 years of her life living in London, where she ran a contracting business and was a member of the cultural group Ngāti Rānana. She returned to New Zealand in the mid-2010s.

Political career

Leoni was elected to the Waitematā Local Board in 2019 on the City Vision ticket. She served as deputy chair for the first half of the term. On 23 February 2020, Leoni was selected as Labour's candidate for the electorate for the, officially launching her campaign in August. Despite a strong pro-Labour swing, Leoni lost to the incumbent National MP Tim van de Molen. Her list placement of 66th was not high enough to enter parliament.
In the 2022 local body elections, Leoni was elected as a councillor for the Whau ward, after narrowly winning the election from the incumbent councillor Tracy Mulholland. Leoni is the first female Māori councillor to be elected to the Auckland Council. She was sworn in alongside the rest of the council on 28 October.
In 2024, Leoni announced that she would run for Mayor of Auckland in the 2025 elections. During the election, Leoni lost to incumbent mayor Wayne Brown. She did not seek re-election to her council seat, and was succeeded by Sarah Paterson-Hamlin.