New Albany councillor Victoria Short (right) with Wayne Brown at his mayoral party last evening. Photo / Jason Dorday
New Albany councillor Victoria Short (right) with Wayne Brown at his mayoral party last evening. Photo / Jason Dorday
After numerous failed challenges, the once-unshakeable alliance of John Watson and Wayne Walker in Auckland Council’s Albany ward has come to an end.
In a big election shock, Victoria Short topped the poll in Albany with a 563-vote margin separating her and Watson. Walker was a further 448 votes behind,missing out on one of the two seats in the ward stretching from Waiwera in the north to Whenuapai and Hobsonville in the west.
With thousands of votes still to be counted before the final results are confirmed, there’s a possibility the second seat could flip, but Walker believes that’s unlikely and promised to support his “wonderful friend”.
Wayne Walker (right) will no longer be on Auckland Council with his good friend John Watson (left).
Short, who was runner-up to Walker and Watson three years ago, told the Herald this evening she was “deeply grateful” to the people who put their trust and faith in her.
“I acknowledge Wayne Walker for his many years of service for our community, and I wish him all the best with his future endeavours,” she said.
“There is a great deal of work that needs to be done, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy my time with my husband and two girls while this all sinks in.”
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board member attended Mayor Wayne Brown’s election night party as a member of his Fix Auckland ticket, taking on who Brown saw as his most annoying councillors, Walker and Watson.
A disappointed Walker cited the Fix Auckland campaign and Short’s more effective use of social media as decisive factors in ending his political career, which spanned 15 years on Auckland Council and 10 years prior on Rodney District Council.
Short, who placed third, about 5000 votes behind Walker and Watson three years ago, was the first of many challengers to beat either of the Albany pair, whose alliance had held firm since 2013.
Short campaigned on her credentials as a trained accountant, pledging to manage council finances and draw on 12 years of experience in local and central Government to deliver practical results for the ward, including improved public transport.
To loud applause from about 100 supporters last night, Brown credited his campaign manager, Tim Hurdle, with helping unseat one of the two long-standing councillors he’s dubbed the “Albanians”.
Walker said he had not spoken with Short since losing his seat and would probably not.
Albany councillor Wayne Walker plans to spend time with his family as he exits politics. Photo / Jason Oxenham
“We weren’t treated very well by the mayor and those people associated with the mayor. I acknowledge the incredibly supportive people. John and I have had a catch-up.”
Walker, who lives at Manly, said the immediate plan was to spend time with his wife, two grown-up children and grandchildren.
Short is one of five new councillors around the council table of 20 councillors and the mayor.
In Howick, Bo Burns topped the poll with 10,222 votes after sparking controversy in the last week of the campaign with expletive-laden comments in a staff chat group about outgoing Howick councillor Sharon Stewart.
The community newspaper owner called Stewart a “f***ing asshole” and a “f***ing cow” over comments the incumbent had made on social media about the issue of “news deserts” and that social media was doing a good job.
Eastern Times owner and publisher Bo Burns and (inset) retiring councillor Sharon Stewart.
In a statement through her lawyer, Burns – who was the deputy chair of the Howick Local Board – apologised for the comments and acknowledged Stewart’s service to the community.
In the Manurewa-Papakura Ward, Matt Winiata won the seat vacated by Angela Dalton. He and the other sitting councillor, Daniel Newman, stood together on the Manurewa-Papakura Action Team ticket and were about 5000 votes clear of the third-placed candidate, Allan Joseph.
Outgoing councillor Chris Darby has been replaced by John Gillon, chair of the Kaipātiki Local Board for eight years, who beat another member of the board, Danielle Grant, who stood on the Fix Auckland ticket. He had a winning margin of about 3000 votes.
And in Whau, Labour candidate Sarah Paterson-Hamlin had a convincing win over Craig Lord, who stood for the mayoralty at the last two elections, by about 1200 votes.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
