Wayne Brown's acceptance speech as the new mayor of Auckland. Video / NZ Herald
Businessman Wayne Brown is the new Mayor of Auckland after beating the Labour-endorsed candidate Efeso Collins.
Progress results issued by Auckland Council show Brown collected 144,619 votes to Collins' 89,811 - a margin of nearly 55,000 votes.
"Auckland voters have sent the clearest possible message to Auckland Council, and centralgovernment in Wellington, and I promise you that you've been heard.
"There is a mandate for change and my job as Mayor is to lead it.
"It is now up to me, the new governing body and the local boards to act on our mandate, fix what is broken and deliver the change you demand," said the incoming mayor.
Brown said at more than 300 campaign events over the past six months, Aucklanders had made it clear to himself and his rival Efeso Collins that people love the city, but much of it is broken.
He said the number one issue is transport, closely followed by crime, unfinished projects, endless orange cones, rising costs and council waste.
Brown had high praise for Collins, saying he had come to regard his close rival as a friend and would like to work with him over the next three years.
He wasn't so kind to the Government, saying Wellington's job is to listen to what Aucklanders say are the priorities, and to fund them - "not impose ideological schemes, like the $30 billion airport tram, untrammelled housing intensification and Three Waters on a city that doesn't want them".
The 76-year-old thanked his family, campaign team and supporters for all their work and encouragement since he launched his bid for the mayoralty in March, saying he would be taking much of tomorrow off before receiving an economic and financial briefing on Monday by senior council officers.
"Hand on heart, I will do my best to deliver," he told the media, before cracking open bottles of champagne to celebrate victory.
His wife of 47 years, Toni, said she was excited and relieved, saying he had worked so hard with his team for so long and so proud of her husband.
Brown's campaign director, Tim Hurdle, put the big win down to Aucklanders seeking more change from Auckland Council, which hadn't delivered on what the Super City was promised.
"They are looking for a mayor taking a strong hand and pushing the city forward.
"Our research was very clear that there was a very strong proportion of the city who were looking for the kind of messages Wayne was promoting, they were looking for a change and felt the status quo was not what they were looking for," he said.
Hurdle said the election was about 70 per cent who wanted change and 30 per cent who wanted the status quo, never a blue-red fight.
Brown, a former Far North District Mayor, becomes the third Mayor of Auckland since eight councils were amalgamated to form the Super City in 2010.
Len Brown and Phil Goff each served two terms with the backing of the Labour Party.
Goff stood down this year after successive wins in 2016 and 2019. He is expected to become New Zealand's next High Commissioner to the UK.
Businessman Wayne Brown has won the Auckland mayoralty. Photo / Greg Bowker
Brown emerged as the leading centre-right choice for voters after restaurateur Leo Molloy and Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck withdrew from the race.
Molloy pulled out just before nominations closed when a poll showed him slipping from second to third place. Beck pulled the pin on the day postal voting started after her campaign went off the rails over revelations of a $353,000 unpaid bill.
Hurdle said Molloy and Beck pulling out of the race made it clearer for Brown, although he was well place before they quit.
Brown has campaigned to "Fix Auckland", promoting himself as the only candidate with the experience and proven track record to sort out the city's finances and infrastructure projects, such as the City Rail Link.
He has promised to cut the staff bill for senior council officers and to stop ratepayer-funding for the council's property arm Eke Panuku Auckland and events and economic arm Auckland Unlimited.
The engineer also has simple solutions in mind, such as installing transponders on buses to trigger green lights to improve travel times and reduce congestion.
Brown has a reputation for being straightforward and, at times, abrasive with people.
Vicki Salmon, who worked with Brown when he was chairman of the Auckland District Health Board when the new Auckland Hospital was built on time and on budget, said Brown is "very upfront, he's got a good brain on him, he can understand very technical issues...and (is) someone who listens to people".
In the last week of the campaign, Brown hit the headlines with an attack on Herald journalist Simon Wilson, saying he would put his picture on urinals and pee on them.
