Auckland Council elections: Left-leaning candidates Julie Fairey and Kerrin Leoni flip two seats

Preliminary results for Auckland Council released today show left-leaning council candidates Julie Fairey and Kerrin Leoni have flipped two seats that went to right-leaning candidates on Saturday.

Fairey won one of two seats in the Albert-Eden-Puketapapa ward, beating Communities and Residents (C&R) candidate Will McKenzie by 551 votes. Based on progress results on Saturday, McKenzie had a slim majority of 286 votes.

Labour's Kerrin Leoni also overturned the 150-vote margin of C&R's Tracy Mulholland to record a 278 win in the Whau ward.

The preliminary results were based on 64,000 votes being returned on Saturday morning. The progress results counted the votes up to Friday night.

The large number of votes on Saturday lifted participation by Auckland's 1.2 million eligible voters from 31 per cent to 35 per cent.

Special votes have still to be counted and will be declared on October 14.

The lift to a 35 per cent turnout matches the 35.3 per cent turnout in 2019.

The results are a boost for the centre-left, which now has nine seats on the council - Fairey, Leoni, Shane Henderson, Alf Filipaina, Fuli Lotu, Angela Dalton, Josephine Bartley, Richard Hills and Chris Darby.

On the other side of the council are John Watson, Wayne Walker, Christine Fletcher, Sharon Stewart, Maurice Williamson, Daniel Newman, Mike Lee, Grey Sayers, Ken Turner, Andy Baker and Desley Simpson.

Brown should be able to rely on most of this group of councillors on a lot of issues at the council and it is understood at least some councillors on the centre-left are going to offer him a constructive relationship.

It remains to be seen how things will shake down as Brown sets about implementing a programme of change.

Members of the Independent Statutory Māori Board also sit on committees with voting rights.

Brown plans to meet all the councillors one-on-one this week to hear their priorities in their areas and for the wider region, and talk with members of the Maori Statutory Board.

He said today he is in no rush to appoint a deputy or structure the committees.