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.[1] Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff won the election with 48% of the vote to secure a second term.[2][3]
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.[4]
The election was conducted by postal vote, and used the first past the post vote system.[5]
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.
The 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.[15]
Also known as Hong Cheng Chen,[17] he immigrated from China in 2003[18] and ran for mayor for the first time.[19] 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.[17]
Ted Johnston
none
A 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.[citation needed]
Susanna Kruger
Justice for Families
Craig Lord
Independent
A media operator,[15] 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.[20]
A 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.[21]
Glen Snelgar
Old Skool
A right-wing candidate who sought to remove fuel taxes and lower rates.[19]
Tadhg Tim Stopford
The Hemp Foundation
Stopford is the founder of The Hemp Foundation,[22] which seeks to promote cannabinoids for medicine and industrial uses.[23]
Tamihere was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, and held Cabinet positions.[24] He was not affiliated with Labour in this election.
Peter Vaughan
none
A numerologist,[25] Vaughan stated that pollution is the biggest issue facing Auckland, particularly landfills.[19]
Annalucia Vermunt
Communist League
Wayne Young
Virtual 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.
John Lehmann, president of the Government Accountability League – announced intention to run[27][28] but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed
Joshua Love, hospitality entrepreneur – announced intention to run[29] but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed
John Palino, restaurateur and 2013 and 2016 candidate – announced intention to run on 25 November 2018[31] but withdrew on 12 August 2019,[32] intending to run for Auckland Council instead.[33]
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.[34] The last debate was on 1 October.[35] 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."[36]
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".[37]
Tamihere made a complaint over three social media posts posted by Phil Goff, but the complaints were rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority.[38][39]
Some voting booklets contained two incorrect photographs, including showing mayoral candidate Tricia Cheel as a man.[40]
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.[38][35] The final turnout for Auckland was predicted to be around 35%.[48][49]
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