2019 Auckland mayoral election

The 2019 Auckland mayoral election was held on 12 October 2019 to determine who would serve as Mayor of Auckland for the next three years. Nominations opened on 19 July 2019 and closed on 16 August 2019. Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff won the election with 48% of the vote to secure a second term.

Background Phil Goff was the incumbent mayor of Auckland. Goff became mayor at the 2016 election in which the previous mayor, Len Brown, did not stand. Goff announced in March 2019 that he would stand again.

The election was conducted by postal vote, and used the first past the post vote system.

Key dates Key dates for the election were: 1 July: Electoral Commission enrolment campaign began. 19 July: Nominations opened for candidates. Rolls opened for inspection. 16 August: Nominations closed at 12 noon. Rolls closed. 21 August: Election date and candidates' names announced. 20 to 25 September: Voting documents delivered to households. Electors could post the documents back to electoral officers as soon as they had voted. 12 October: Polling day. Voting documents had to be at council before voting closed at 12 noon. Preliminary results were to be available as soon as all ordinary votes were counted. 17 to 23 October: Official results, including all valid ordinary and special votes, declared.

Candidates The 21 candidates for the mayoralty were: +NameAffiliationNotesTricia CheelSTOP Trashing our PlanetCheel had previously run for mayor, and had stood for Parliament for the Ban 1080 Party and the Democrats for Social Credit. She has opposed fluoride, vaccinations, glyphosate, and 1080 drops.Michael CooteIndependentDavid John FeistLiftNZGenevieve FordenoneForde's main issues were addressing climate change and regenerating nature.Phil GoffIndependentThe incumbent mayor, in the role since 2016. Goff was a Labour Party Member of Parliament 1981–1990 and 1993–2016, and was leader of the party for three years. He resigned as an MP after being elected as mayor and ran as an independent in this election.Alezix HenetinoneJannaha HenrynoneA 21-year old candidate.John HongIndependentAlso known as Hong Cheng Chen, he immigrated from China in 2003 and ran for mayor for the first time. A right-wing candidate, he had previously worked for Panuku Development Auckland, and was the chair of the New Zealand promotion committee for China's Belt and Road Initiative and a government relations adviser for the Chao San General Association of New Zealand.Ted JohnstonnoneA 59-year-old criminal barrister from South Auckland and former parliamentary candidate for The Opportunities Party. Policies included helping the poor and disadvantaged, stopping "secret meetings", protecting parks and the environment and building fast rail.Susanna KrugerJustice for FamiliesCraig LordIndependentA media operator, this was Lord's first time standing in an election. Lord stated that he had no policies and that he considered the mayor to be a 'token' job, given the role of the 20 other councillors.Brendan Bruce MaddernIndependentThanh Binh NguyenIndependentPhil O'ConnorChristians Against AbortionTom SainsburyIndependentA comedian running under an alter-ego of Fiona (though the name on the ballot was Tom Sainsbury). Fiona claimed in a video that running for mayor was a mistake she made when drunk.Glen SnelgarOld SkoolA right-wing candidate who sought to remove fuel taxes and lower rates.Tadhg Tim StopfordThe Hemp FoundationStopford is the founder of The Hemp Foundation, which seeks to promote cannabinoids for medicine and industrial uses.John TamihereJT for MayorTamihere was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, and held Cabinet positions. He was not affiliated with Labour in this election.Peter VaughannoneA numerologist, Vaughan stated that pollution is the biggest issue facing Auckland, particularly landfills.Annalucia VermuntCommunist LeagueWayne YoungVirtual Homeless Community

Prospective candidates who did not stand The following people indicated they might, or would, run for mayor in this election, but ultimately did not. Mike Lee, councillor John Lehmann, president of the Government Accountability League – announced intention to run but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed Joshua Love, hospitality entrepreneur – announced intention to run but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed Simon O'Connor, MP for Tamaki John Palino, restaurateur and 2013 and 2016 candidate – announced intention to run on 25 November 2018 but withdrew on 12 August 2019, intending to run for Auckland Council instead.

Policies and campaigning The campaign included a number of debates. One debate between Goff, Tamihere, Lord, and Henry discussed issues such as infrastructure, public transport, climate change, parking, and inequality, among other topics. The last debate was on 1 October. Candidate Phil Goff compared the campaign to the previous one saying: "It's a lot different from last time, we had a lot of meetings last time, it's been a more aggressive campaign from his [John Tamihere's] side."

Candidate John Tamihere faced controversy for using the term "Sieg Heil" during a debate. After Goff stated "We won't put up with the sort of nonsense that we get from racists coming into this country to tell us that multiculturalism doesn't work," Tamihere responded, "I say sieg heil to that." After the debate, Tamihere initially denied using the term, then stated his comments were a criticism of Goff's actions around a decision to bar controversial Canadian speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern from using an Auckland Council venue in 2018, calling Goff "a dictator".

Tamihere made a complaint over three social media posts posted by Phil Goff, but the complaints were rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Some voting booklets contained two incorrect photographs, including showing mayoral candidate Tricia Cheel as a man.

Endorsements Phil Goff New Zealand Labour Party – political party David Tua – professional boxer

John Tamihere Christine Fletcher – current councillor John Banks – former Mayor of Auckland City

Results

By local board

Local board subdivisions won by GoffLocal board subdivision won by Lord Source:

Phil Goff John Tamihere Craig Lord John Hong Ted Johnston Others Total Board Subdivision # % # % # % # % # % # % #Albert-Eden Owairaka 7,980 63.31 2,058 16.33 622 4.93 386 3.06 369 2.93 1189 9.43 12,604Albert-Eden Maungawhau 7,561 58.36 2,630 20.3 495 3.82 762 5.88 423 3.27 1084 8.37 12,955Aotea/GreatBarrier 200 47.73 93 22.2 30 7.16 1 0.24 9 2.15 86 20.53 419Devonport-Takapuna 8,568 50.89 3,647 21.66 1,103 6.55 814 4.83 825 4.9 1,880 11.17 16,837Franklin Waiuku 1,530 39.28 770 19.77 737 18.92 44 1.13 222 5.7 592 15.2 3,895Franklin Pukekohe 3,714 43.54 1,738 20.37 1,458 17.09 87 1.02 447 5.24 1,087 12.74 8,531Franklin Wairoa 3,027 45.77 1,509 22.82 899 13.59 98 1.48 326 4.93 755 11.42 6,614Henderson-Massey 10,240 42.83 6,480 27.1 2,100 8.78 1,095 4.58 808 3.38 3,185 13.32 23,908Hibiscus and Bays Hibiscus Coast 6,536 40.37 4,039 24.94 2,075 12.81 305 1.88 968 5.98 2,269 14.01 16,192Hibiscus and Bays East Coast Bays 5,731 44.01 2,825 21.7 1,176 9.03 786 6.04 823 6.32 1,680 12.9 13,021Howick Pakuranga 4,866 43.53 2,442 21.85 786 7.03 1,273 11.39 547 4.89 1,264 11.31 11,178Howick Howick 5,525 43.77 2,878 22.8 1,061 8.4 1,118 8.86 678 5.37 1,364 10.8 12,624Howick Botany 5,989 45.29 2647 20.02 669 5.06 1762 13.32 566 4.28 1,592 12.04 13,225Kaipātiki 10,066 48.94 3,990 19.4 1,802 8.76 1,194 5.8 780 3.79 2,738 13.31 20,570Māngere-Ōtāhuhu 6,578 54.37 2,855 23.6 388 3.21 156 1.29 403 3.33 1,719 14.21 12,099Manurewa 7,454 48.58 3,886 25.32 795 5.18 341 2.22 646 4.21 2,223 14.49 15,345Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Maungakiekie 4,157 57.95 1,361 18.97 399 5.56 249 3.47 298 4.15 710 9.9 7,174Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Tāmaki 4,491 51.97 1,803 20.87 410 4.74 318 3.68 348 4.03 1,271 14.71 8,641Ōrākei 13,799 52.9 6,602 25.31 1,296 4.97 848 3.25 1,247 4.78 2,295 8.8 26,087Ōtara-Papatoetoe Papatoetoe 4,136 53.73 1,674 21.75 296 3.85 215 2.79 312 4.05 1,065 13.83 7,698Ōtara-Papatoetoe Otara 2,527 51.81 1,304 26.74 80 1.64 78 1.6 188 3.85 700 14.35 4,877Papakura 5,285 47.91 2,575 23.34 992 8.99 207 1.88 498 4.51 1,474 13.36 11,031Puketāpapa 8,427 60.49 2,490 17.87 605 4.34 844 6.06 416 2.99 1,150 8.25 13,932Rodney Wellsford 308 20.37 365 24.14 570 37.7 16 1.06 58 3.84 195 12.9 1,512Rodney Warkworth 2,499 36.2 1,793 25.97 1,256 18.19 53 0.77 359 5.2 943 13.66 6,903Rodney Kumeu 2,792 33.42 2,103 25.17 1,785 21.36 112 1.34 425 5.09 1,138 13.62 8,355Rodney Dairy Flat 609 34.48 509 28.82 226 12.8 79 4.47 130 7.36 213 12.06 1,766Upper Harbour Upper Harbour 5,831 39.7 3,307 22.52 1,544 10.51 1,380 9.4 727 4.95 1,898 12.92 14,687Waiheke 1,799 54.88 608 18.55 218 6.65 13 0.4 178 5.43 462 14.09 3,278Waitākere Ranges 7,231 51.33 2,771 19.67 1,698 12.05 201 1.43 437 3.1 1,749 12.42 14,087Waitematā 11,342 61.46 3,535 19.16 678 3.67 374 2.03 658 3.57 1,867 10.12 18,454Whau 9,348 52.75 3,616 20.4 1,328 7.49 1,002 5.65 518 2.92 1,910 10.78 17,722Total 180,146 49.19 80,903 22.09 29,577 8.08 16,211 4.43 15,637 4.27 43,747 11.95 366,221

Turnout Turnout was expected to be lower than in previous elections. Initial counts, while voting was still open, showed turnout to be lower compared with the same time in the 2016 election. The final turnout for Auckland was predicted to be around 35%.

See also 2019 Auckland local elections

Notes

References