Jami-Lee Ross. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross says he may not be a perfect person, but he would get things done.
Ross is seeking a comeback in politics at a local level and is putting his hat in the ring to serve on the Howick Local Board in Auckland.
"I spent six years on the Manukau City Council before a decade spent in Parliament. I understand council and government processes well and I can put those skills to good use working at a local board level," he said in a statement.
He says he is a much more "calm and humble" person since a chaotic time in Parliament, with National in tatters.
In 2018, Ross sensationally went to police claiming former National Party leader Simon Bridges asked him to collect and split a large donation to avoid disclosure rules.
It followed an extraordinary and tumultuous time at Parliament - where Ross resigned and accused Bridges of corruption.
"That was a long time in the past and I think everyone involved has probably learnt some lessons from it," he told RNZ.
"The warfare in the National Party, nobody won from that. Nobody succeeded from that. Everybody got hurt and there was no good that came of it," he said.
RNZ at the time reported it as a leak scandal and full-blown turmoil.
There were leaks, secret recordings, photos released on Twitter, and that very public trip to Wellington Police station.
Bridges accused Ross of "lying, leaking and lashing out".
In a bitter exit from the National Party, Ross went independent and said he had a mental breakdown as pressure ramped up on him to leave the party.
In the end it was Ross and others charged by the Serious Fraud Office after his police complaint.
Ross would be cleared of fraud charges after a trial.
Jami-Lee Ross speaks to media after making a complaint to police about National Party leader, Simon Bridges. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
There were also allegations he manipulated and entrapped women.
In 2019, Ross used his social media platforms to say sorry to everyone he hurt, including Bridges.
"I think that, you know, it took two to tango, but I'm happy to own the fact that I made a lot of decisions that weren't great, and along the way, there would've been people that were hurt," he said today.
"And I'm sorry for that, and I'm sorry for what I put friends and family through a lot in times past."
He said he went on to do "a lot of reflecting" after Parliament and struggled with mental health as his job and relationships began deteriorating.
He also went on to be involved with an escort agency where some women reportedly had concerns for their conditions, welfare and safety.
"It is a perfectly legal business that I've built up to the point where I'm really just administrative now, there are 40 people that earn an income.
"If we did a bad job and we didn't look after people properly, those people wouldn't have stayed, they wouldn't have referred their friends. We've got people that have been there for two-and-a-half, three years," he said.
"I'd challenge you to find any organisation with that many people where everyone's 100 percent happy."
The job Ross wants now
Ross said today he is to make a contribution again now it's five years since he left Parliament.
"The council and local board have failed to keep up with the rapid growth of the Flat Bush community. There's no library, no swimming pool, no community centre, no real transport connections. Local residents deserve more value for their rates," he said.
Ross, who is also a former councillor the old Manukau City Council, said he had the past experience and skillset to be an effective advocate for residents.
"I do have skills and I do have experience that I can put to good use, and I think as a Howick Local Board member, I can get back to doing the good work locally on the ground that I used to when I was a city councillor."
So why the local board spot and not a councillor?
"Look, I'm a calmer and more humble individual now than I probably was five years ago, and at a local board level, you can really work at the local grassroots level," he told RNZ.
"It's very easy for the media to distil a 16-year career down into a few headlines, but I did spend 16 years as a local councillor and a local MP.
"I believe I can reconnect with people and continue to do the good work," he said.
"I went through a bit of a firestorm, and I don't want to go through that again, and in the same way, I want to do some good work locally."
Ross said it was voters who would decide, and if they want "a perfect saint", then he was probably not the person.
"If they want somebody that can get things done, knows the council processes, knows how to achieve results, then I'm certainly the person who has the experience."
Nominations for the local elections closed at midday on Friday.
The timeline
13 August 2018: An update on MPs' expenses was leaked to Newshub.
14 August 2018: Questions immediately began on who had leaked the information before the official list of MPs expenses was made publicly available. Simon Bridges demanded an inquiry.
15 August 2018: Speaker Trevor Mallard announced an inquiry.
24 August 2018: A person claiming to be the National Party leaker sent an anonymous text to Bridges pleading for the inquiry into the leaking of his expenses to be called off. Hours later, Mallard called off the inquiry that was to have been undertaken by Michael Heron QC.
27 August: Bridges said he would be continuing with an inquiry.
4 September 2018: All 56 National MPs signed a privacy waiver to hand over communications dating back to the start of February.
2 October 2018: Jami-Lee Ross stands down from his portfolios and from the front bench of the opposition, citing personal health issues.
15 October 2018: Bridges said the inquiry report identified Ross as the most likely source of the leak, and he accepted that finding. Ross posts a series of tweets saying he was not responsible and that Bridges was trying to pin the leak inquiry on him.
16 October 2018: Ross holds a nearly hour-long press conference announcing he will step down from National and stand as an independent. He alleged Bridges had broken electoral donation law and said he would put in an official police complaint. Ross questioned Bridges' leadership and heavily criticised him.
17 October 2018: Ross emerges from Wellington Police Station after filing his complaint on Bridges. He releases audio of a phone conversation between himself and Bridges.
18 October 2018: Bridges says he's "gutted" by new allegations his former MP Ross manipulated and entrapped women.
22 January 2019: The embattled Botany MP apologises to everyone he hurt the year before, including Bridges who he tried to take down. He says he began struggling with mental health and that his job and his relationships started deteriorating.
30 January 2019: The Speaker announces Ross will not have access to National Party corridors at Parliament.
25 February 2020: Ross and three others plead not guilty to electoral fraud.
2 July 2020: A trial date is set.
15 September 2020: Now independent MP Ross announces he won't be standing for the Botany electorate, but will be on the party list for Advance New Zealand.
6 March 2021: It emerges Ross is behind a company reportedly planning to sell an anti-5G supplement.
7 October 2022: Ross is cleared of fraud charges over political donations, and the judge releases the reasons why.
17 March 2023: Concerns are raised at an escort business reportedly run by Ross.
1 August 2025: Ross confirms he wants a spot on the Howick Local Board in Auckland.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
