'MOTHERHOOD, MENTAL HEALTH & ME'

After announcing her venture into politics, the aspiring mayor opens up about her struggle with depression and how music has healed her

Ria Hall is an award-winning musician, a devoted solo mum student and a university and amid all the chaos, she has just announced she's also running to be the mayor of Tauranga.

There's a lot on her plate and after the kids are asleep, she's often still working at 11pm, yet having twice fought back from perinatal depression after having three babies in less than three years, the singer is certain she has what it takes to do it all.

"Everything I do evolves with and around my children," Ria, 41, tells Woman's Day. "Being a māmā is the core of why I'm so driven and incredibly ambitious to make a difference. I want to enable and empower a society that is open, connected and inclusive because I want my babies to experience that style of unity."

The youngest of four, growing up in Tauranga, Ria says even as a child she was passionate about social change.

"My family are working class and not highly educated, but I really wanted to flip the script," tells Ria, who has had chart hits with Stan Walker, Tiki Taane and Troy Kingi. "It doesn't matter if it wasn't modelled to you - what matters is your character and values are authentic. Times were a lot different in the '80s, but I always knew I had a specific drive within me, a certain style of fire, from a very young age."

Ria has a deep aroha for her hometown and says it wasn't a surprise to any of her loved ones when she announced her mayoral candidacy in early May.

"It has always been burning in the back corners of my ngākau [heart] and has been a matter of when, not if. There needs to be a change in leadership, a new direction taken in order to achieve the outcomes we need for an ever-expanding, multicultural, amazing city. I believe I'm the right person."