Auckland mayoralty: Communities & Residents - the political ticket caught up in Viv Beck's messy campaign

The National Party has a strict policy of not getting involved in local body elections, but its de facto arm in Auckland is in the thick of the action swirling around mayoral candidate Viv Beck.

Communities and Residents is standing 58 candidates for Auckland Council, Local Boards and licensing trusts, but its links to Beck is what is making the headlines.

C&R, as it is better known, endorsed Beck for the mayoralty on July 13 after months of considering the matter.

Said President Kit Parkinson: "Viv's values closely align with C&R's. We're looking forward to working with her and sharing our compelling proposition to voters."

An advertisement for Viv Beck on C&R's Facebook page. Photo / Supplied

Fast forward 10 weeks and Parkinson has run a mile from revelations of Beck's alleged unpaid $353,000 bill from the advertising agency Hello Ltd.

Beck is saying little about the bill, apart from the parties are working towards a resolution, but it has thrown up some interesting links between the independent candidate and her political backers.

For starters, two members of C&R, board member Nicholas Albrecht and C&R's 2019 candidate in the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward Josh Beddell, are on Beck's campaign team.

Then there's the matter of Parkinson and Albrecht being adamant the bill had been paid several days before the release of an email revealing the $353,000 figure.

Albrecht told the Herald a "good two thirds" of the bill had been paid. Parkinson said he had just found out there was a small issue way back but it was settled. It was a beat-up, he said.

With the release of the email accusing Beck's team of making false claims the debt had been settled, Parkinson refused to name the person who told him the bill had been paid and Albrecht has gone to ground and not returning calls.

In another twist, several C&R members, including Parkinson, Albrecht, board member Alistair Bell and local body candidates Sarah Trotman and Will McKenzie are signed-up members of The Auckland Society.

The society was incorporated on March 31 and acts as the collection point for donations to Beck's campaign. Her campaign chairman Anthony McGivern and husband, former National MP Paul Quinn, have acted as witnesses for some of the members.

C&R councillor Desley Simpson has forged a strong working relationship with Mayor Phil Goff in her role as chair of the finance committee. Photo / NZME

Other members of the society include Hello managing director James Polhill and property developer Andrew Krukziener, who has told the Herald he had supported Beck with a "six-figure pledge" which had been paid in two tranches.

Parkinson has distanced C&R from the disputed invoice, saying the political ticket has been falsely labelled being part of it.

It had "100 per cent" nothing to do with C&R, said Parkinson, saying any mayoral campaign runs its own finances.

Last Thursday, the C&R executive met to "get open and clear facts" on the issue and Parkinson emailed elected members making it clear C&R and Becks run separate campaigns, albeit working together where appropriate to secure a centre-right council.

C&R and Beck have similar billboards and share the same supplier. C&R has also allowed Beck to run advertisements on its Facebook page.

C&R is the main centre-right ticket in Auckland, although many centre-right candidates choose to stand as independent candidates or on a local ticket.

It is loosely connected to the National Party, which has a policy of not being involved in local government elections or standing candidates under the party name.

The ticket was formed in 1938 under the name Citizens & Ratepayers and controlled the former Auckland City Council for most of the following decades.

Since the 2010 amalgamation of Auckland's seven councils and one regional council to form Auckland Council, also known as the Super City, C&R has failed to broaden its appeal across the wider city.

C&R councillor Christine Fletcher. Photo / NZME

C&R currently has three Auckland councillors - Desley Simpson (Orakei), Christine Fletcher (Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa)and Tracy Mulholland (Whau).

Unlike City Vision - a local government ticket of Labour, Green and community independents - C&R is more relaxed about members not toeing the party line as witnessed by Simpson working closely with Mayor Phil Goff as chair of the finance committee.

At this election, C&R is standing council candidates in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, Orakei, Whau wards and, for the first time since 2010, North Shore. It has also endorsed former councillor Mike Lee in the Waitematā and Gulf ward.

For many years, C&R has controlled Entrust, the majority public shareholder in the lines company Vector.

C&R changed its name to Communities and Residents in 2012.

Get more local election news with Georgina Campbell every Tuesday with our politics podcast, On the Tiles - Local Edition