Within two hours of the polls closing, Wayne Brown told supporters gathered at Ponsonby Central that he was Auckland's new mayor. The result is clear, with Brown claiming the mayoral chains by 54,808 votes - although it isn't as emphatic as Goff's last term, which he claimed by almost 100,000 over the next-placed candidate.
It's a first for the supercity after having leftist leaders since its inception almost 12 years ago. Centre-right Brown claimed his win was a "mandate for change", and that message was echoed at other winning candidate parties around the country.
Christchurch also elected a businessman with a "fix-it" philosophy after long-service politician Lianne Dalziel stood down.
Rotorua opted for Tania Tapsell, 30, over her rival Fletcher Tabuteau. Tapsell is a former National Party candidate who took the position after Steve Chadwick, who had been the mayor since 2013, announced she would not run again.
David Trewavas retained Taupō over his nearest rival Christine Rankin and in Napier, Kirsten Wise claimed a second term. Masterton also has a new mayor after incumbent Lyn Patterson stood down. Gary Caffell has successfully been elected in his third attempt at securing the mayoralty.
Whanganui will also likely have a new mayor, with progress results showing Andrew Tripe with a nearly 2000-vote margin over incumbent Hamish McDouall.
Glyn Lewers has been elected mayor of the Queenstown-Lakes District after Jim Boult stood down after two terms.
Invercargill has elected a new mayor after more than two decades with Sir Tim Shadbolt, who drew a paltry 847 ticks to winner Nobby Clark's more than 6500 votes, followed by Marcus Lush with close to 3800 votes. It is likely to be the end of the long political career for Shadbolt, 75, the country's longest-serving mayor.
While changeovers occur at district and regional offices, there were signals during the election that changes are also needed in running the ballots. There are lessons to be learned and it's to be hoped those responsible for the next ballot were watching.
A large turnout of late votes yesterday morning apparently caught ballot-box stations and administrators on the hop, with queues and a shortage of forms reported.
There were also reports of people having thrown their ballot forms away, believing the papers were information only and they could go online on election day and cast their votes. Surely, New Zealand is long overdue for an electronic voting option.
Change is also needed to entice more candidates in some areas.
As noted before by the Herald, a low turnout of votes in some areas means candidates were elected on a handful of ballots; 238 candidates have taken seats automatically due to the low number of nominations - both valid outcomes within the Local Electoral Act 2001 but barely valid as an indication of the will of the people.
Clearly, this was not the case in Auckland, where there were 23 candidates before Viv Beck withdrew, still claiming sixth-place 5730 votes. Perhaps a supercity may need to consider primaries or some other means to whittle down a large field.
Congratulations to the successful candidates today, and our gratitude to all who stood for public office. Also, our appreciation to those departing after a term or terms of service. Hopefully, the change is a good one.
