"Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini."
(My strength is not that of an individual, but that of many.)

Kerrin Leoni is a proud descendant of Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tākoto, Ngāti Kuri, and Te Whare Tapu o Ngāpuhi, whose rich whakapapa informs her dedicated leadership within the Tāmaki Māori electorate. As former board member and senior executive of the Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust, she champions the social, cultural, and economic aspirations of Māori, upholding tikanga and rangatiratanga.

Raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, Kerrin is an experienced local government politician, qualified economist, social worker and community leader. She has worked at the frontline since she started her social work career in South Auckland more than 20 years ago. Her leadership is guided by whanaungatanga and good succession planning for rangatahi.

"Tāmaki Makaurau has the largest Māori population in the world and needs strong Māori leaders. I want to deliver a future where all Māori can live in a warm home, access good health care and have fairly paid jobs."

Kerrin has Master’s degrees in Youth Development from Auckland University of Technology, and in International Politics and Economics from King’s College London. She was the first wahine Māori to be elected as an Auckland Councillor for the super city and was an Auckland mayoral candidate in 2025.

She is currently working in South Auckland as the operations manager for Ma Te Huruhuru, which has the first kaupapa Māori youth transitional housing in Aotearoa.

Kerrin is a mother of twins and supports revitalising te reo Māori.

“Right now Māori need inspiration to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as part of the Labour whānau we will always work hard for families. Lets take our people forward, karawhiua!"