Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni resigns over gang campaigning

Labour's Tāmaki Makaurau candidate Kerrin Leoni has resigned after a video emerged of her campaigning alongside Mongrel Mob members.The footage showed Leoni, wearing a Labour Party jacket, talking to gang members about enrolling to vote and changing the government.A photo from the same event - published by Newsroom - showed the former Auckland councillor posing with a group of people including some in Mongrel Mob regalia pulling hand gestures associated with the gang.Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the footage was "inconsistent" with the standards he expected from his candidates."I have made it very clear that campaigning alongside gangs is unacceptable," he said in a statement released on Friday.Speaking to reporters later that morning, Hipkins said Leoni had displayed "very very bad judgement" and had paid a "very high price" for that."It is a clear violation of the very clear standards that I have set out for our MPs and candidates," he said. "Her position had become untenable."Hipkins said he had a brief conversation with Leoni on Friday morning, in which she apologised and conceded she had not handled the situation well."Clearly, this has been very, very difficult for her. This is her family who we're talking about."Labour leader Chris Hipkins.RNZ/Baz MacdonaldHipkins said Leoni had not given the party the "full information" about the gathering and had not managed the conflict appropriately.But he said he bore her no "ill will" for the mistake and became emotional while expressing his frustration at the "unfortunate" circumstance."All of us navigate family situations in politics, and it's bloody hard," he said."In her case, she should be really proud of what she has been able to achieve. She has grown up in an environment where she's been surrounded by gang members. She is not a gang member herself. She has made a good life for herself."She has made a mistake here, and she has paid a high price."Hipkins said he also believed there was an element of "racism" to the reaction and chided National for "crowing" and "salivating" over the candidate's mistake."Our Māori MPs get held to a very different standard to others."Hipkins said he was "very disappointed" in the situation and acknowledged it was "not helpful at all" to the prospects of a centre-left coalition.He said he was not aware of any other Labour candidates visiting gang pads during this election campaign.Hipkins had earlier condemned Green and Te Pāti Māori candidates for taking photos with gang members at a Mongrol Mob pad during the campaign.He ruled out giving law-and-order portfolios to MPs from either party, saying it was unacceptable for politicians to "go out and celebrate with gangs".Leoni herself criticised Te Pāti Māori rival Oriini Kaipara for the visit during an electorate debate on Wednesday. Kaipara hit back, accusing Leoni of having visited a gang pad the week before her, which Leoni denied.Te Pāti Māori candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau Oriini Kaipara.VNP/Phil SmithIn a Facebook post on Thursday, Leoni said she had not visited a gang pad during the campaign but admitted attending a "whānau function" in early October where some close relatives who were gang members were present."I will not turn my back on them or pretend they are not my whānau because of their associations," she wrote. "I've always tried to be a role model for my whānau."With nominations already closed, Leoni's name will remain on the ballot paper, despite Hipkins saying she no longer represents Labour.The video - first reported by Whakaata Māori but also independently obtained by RNZ - showed a patched Mongrel Mob member advocating for the gangs to stop fighting each other and to instead turn their attention to the government.The footage then cut to Leoni, addressing those present: "Some of them you might know that aren't enrolled to vote and they can have the power to change this government."The Post reported that the event had been advertised online as a "fundraiser for the Mongrel Mob's Rogue Chapter". But Hipkins told reporters he had been reassured that the function was not a fundraising event.Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan.RNZ / Samuel RillstoneSpeaking earlier on Friday on NZ Herald's Ryan Bridge Today, Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan defended Leoni, saying she had been visiting family.She said she was willing to accept Leoni's version of events: "She was there at a whānau event, and that's the information that I have."Hipkins also initially stood by Leoni on Thursday - before further footage emerged - saying she was entitled to interact with her own family."But I don't expect to see any of our MPs or candidates campaigning in gang pads."