“It’s just a loss, such a loss,” Randle’s younger sister Sher said.
Tony Randle pictured during the council’s first meeting of the term in November 2025. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said the family had been honoured to see the outpouring of tributes from community members, media figures, and politicians across the aisle.
“He was the one that helped keep the family together and communicated,” she said.
“It’s important that we remember the good things and try and emulate what he does and carry on really.
“He was a type of politician that focused on the facts and the numbers and didn’t get into personal issues or calling people names or character assassinations, which is a shame that we’ve lost him from politics to be fair, we need more of that.”
Randle was admitted to hospital with stomach pains on Friday and was expected to be discharged, but suffered heart-related complications and died on Sunday, his sister said.
His death has been referred to the coroner.
In a further statement, his family said they were “devastated”, describing Randle as “very committed to the Wellington community, especially the Northern suburbs, where he lived for more than 30 years”.
In the council chamber, Randle’s blazer hangs over his empty seat, with flowers, a framed photo and his calculator placed beside his nameplate.
“He is going to leave a real hole in presence around this table for time to come,” Deputy Mayor and fellow Northern Ward councillor Ben McNulty said at the council’s first briefing on Tuesday since Randle’s death.
“The business of a city doesn’t stop, even with the loss of one of us around this table, I’m grappling with that a little bit, I’m sure everyone else is as well, but knowing Tony I’m also sure he would expect us to continue,” McNulty said.
“Tony was a colleague, he was a friend, and we’re going to miss him dearly,” he said.
Flowers and tributes on the council table at the empty seat of Wellington City Councillor Tony Randle. A by-election for his seat will be held later this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Randle’s death means a byelection for his Northern Ward seat.
A Wellington City Council spokesman said plans for a byelection would be announced in the coming weeks, but it is required to be held before the end of the year.
A memorial service for Randle is being held at 1pm this Saturday, August 15, at Wellington’s Tākina convention centre.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked people consider donating to the Johnsonville Trust in Tony’s name, as an organisation he “cared deeply about”, that provides community grants to individuals and groups in the Northern suburbs.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.