Ray Chung vile email scandal: Two more Independent Together candidates quit
Within the hour Pukehīnau Lambton ward candidate Dan Milward also quit the group.
'Like many others, I was surprised by the recent allegations and the subsequent media coverage storm' he said.
'When my wife was threatened by the agitators at our final roadshow event in Wellington CBD on Tuesday night, I knew it was time to take a different approach.'
Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung at a rally. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Videos posted to social media have seen public meetings held by the group descend into chaos with hecklers and event organisers clashing.
When contacted for comment, Chung said he 'didn't know' about the departures.
He was at the Local Government New Zealand conference on Thursday and said he hadn't communicated with anyone all day.
In a statement, an Independent Together spokesman blamed the media scrutiny over the email scandal - rather than the lewd email itself - for the departures.
'The political machinations at play have an enormous psychological impact for all of the candidates', the statement said.
'The accompanying media coverage and the scrutiny on the team has been intense.'
They are not the first to leave the group.
Engineering firm director Phil McConchie, Cuba Barbers owner Mike Petrie, and Melissa Moore had all disappeared from the group's website before Chung's official campaign launch in June.
Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung at his campaign launch. Photo / Ethan Manera.
Chung said at the time that they each left after the group was launched in April, as they struggled to manage the commitments needed to run for council with their own professional demands.
Chung said he was 'not fussed' by the departures and didn't think it was a bad look for Independent Together. He said he was glad they left before they had officially declared their candidacy with the council.
Tory Whanau said Chung emailed her an apology on Monday, the same day Prime Minister Christopher Luxon slammed Chung's comments.
'That was unacceptable content in that email, really pretty vile and unacceptable stuff', Luxon said when asked about it at his post-Cabinet press conference.
The email's existence has also cost Chung an important backer, with rich-list philanthropist Sir Mark Dunajtschik officially withdrawing his support for the mayoral candidate.
Chung has called the situation a 'blatant political attack' and a 'smear campaign'.
Six candidates, including Chung, remain on the Independent Together ticket for the upcoming Wellington City Council election.
Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
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