Orphée Mickalad
Connect with Orphée Mickalad
Orphée Mickalad’s Elections & Candidacies
Contested 2 races — 0 won 2 pending
In the News
Ratepayers help fund councillor’s law studies
The Post — August 30, 2025Mayoral hopeful Orphée Mickalad says there is nothing wrong with the council helping out with his university fees.
Orphée Mickalad stands for Palmerston North mayoralty
Manawatu Standard — May 17, 2025"Four-year Palmerston North city councillor Orphée Mickalad is standing for the mayoralty. Elected to the council at a by-election in 2021, Mickalad was the city’s first former refugee to claim a seat at the council table. The “proud Palmy resident”, 35, came from war-torn Congo and had lived in the city since 2006."
Tolling replacement road likened to highway robbery
Manawatu Standard — December 19, 2024"Making people pay to use the nearly-completed Te Ahu a Turanga road replacing the closed Manawatū Gorge will be opposed by the Palmerston North City Council. Councillor Lorna Johnson, who seconded Cr Brent Barrett’s call for the council to make a submission to keep the new route free from tolls, said the proposed costs to users would be “highway robbery”. [...] The councillors who supported imposition of a toll were Orphée Mickalad, William Wood, Leonie Hapeta and Mark Arnott."
Council and chamber unite in favour of Māori ward
Manawatu Standard — August 7, 2024"Palmerston North’s Te Pūao Māori ward is here to stay for the 2025 city council elections. Mayor Grant Smith and 14 councillors voted unanimously in favour of retaining the ward on Wednesday. The vote was forced by a recent law change."
'Ignore the hatred': Racism fuels former refugee to encourage more immigrants to stand for public office in NZ
Manawatu Standard — June 7, 2022"Online abuse and verbal insults remain routine for the first former refugee to be elected to local government in New Zealand, but he will not flinch to racism. Orphee Mickalad, 32, doesn’t just have time commitments and career ambitions to weigh up when considering if he should seek re-election to the city council in Palmerston North in October, there is also the toll of unrelenting prejudice. “I experience racism almost every day,” he said. “I’ll walk past a traffic light and someone will yell, ‘go back to your own country’, and drive off.” Mickalad is no stranger to living among hostility. He and his family escaped war in Congo for a new life in New Zealand when he was 15. He went from speaking little English to winning a seat on council in a 2021 by-election."
Have more information about Orphée Mickalad? Help improve this page by suggesting additional details.