The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. The position exists since October 2010 after the amalgamation of various territorial authorities. The mayor is supported by a deputy mayor.

Background

The position was first filled by election on 9 October 2010 for the establishment of the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. The Council replaced seven territorial authority councils, including the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

, and also the Auckland Regional Council. Before 2010, "Mayor of Auckland" was an informal term applied to the

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

, head of the Auckland City Council. Until October 2013, when new mayoral powers set out in the

Local Government Act 2002 The Local Government Act 2002 (sometimes known by its acronym, LGA) is an Act of New Zealand's Parliament that defines local government in New Zealand. There are 73 territorial authorities (local districts), each with an elected Mayor and elec ...

Amendment Act 2012 came into effect, the Mayor of Auckland had more powers compared to other mayors in New Zealand.

Role of mayor

The mayor has the powers to establish their own office, create and dissolve governing body committees and appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees. The mayor chairs the governing body and may exercise a

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

if a tie arises during a vote.

History of mayoral contests

In the first mayoral election for Auckland Council in 2010, outgoing

Mayor of Manukau City The Mayor of Manukau City was the head of the municipal government of Manukau City, New Zealand, from 1965 to 2010, and presided over the Manukau City Council. The mayor was directly elected using a first-past-the-post electoral system. The last ...

Len Brown Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...

was elected, defeating outgoing

John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to: Politics and law *Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament * John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *John Gray Banks (188 ...

, outgoing Mayor of North Shore City Andrew Williams and prominent Christian businessman

Colin Craig Colin Craig (born 8 January 1968) is a New Zealand businessman and perennial candidate who was the founding leader of the Conservative Party of New Zealand. Craig is a millionaire who owns companies that manage high-rise buildings. His current ...

, amongst others. The mayoral office had a budget of $4.1 million and a staff of 18 in 2011. Brown preferred not to use the honorific "His Worship". Contenders in the

2013 Auckland mayoral election An election was held for the office of Mayor of Auckland on 12 October 2013. It was one of many triennial local elections that took place in Auckland and throughout New Zealand at the time. Background Incumbent Len Brown appeared at number s ...

included Brown,

John Minto John Minto (born ) is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers listed him as number 89. Tod ...

and John Palino. Brown was re-elected. Brown announced in November 2015 that he would not contest the 2016 mayoralty election. There were 19 contenders for the position, and

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 N ...

won against Victoria Crone, John Palino, and

Chlöe Swarbrick Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick (born 26 June 1994) is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, ...

. In the 2019 mayoral election, Goff won re-election against 21 contenders with 49% of the vote. Other contenders who received a high share of the vote include

John Tamihere John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet minister in the Labour Party from August 2002 to ...

(22%), Craig Lord (8%), John Hong (4%) and Ted Johnston (4%).

List of mayors

Role of deputy mayor

The deputy mayor is the second highest elected official in the Auckland Council. The deputy mayor acts in support of the Mayor of Auckland. It is the second highest elected position in the council. However, like the position of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

, this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. They are appointed by the mayor from the elected ward councillors. The current deputy mayor is Desley Simpson, who represents the

Ōrākei ward Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Orakei ...

on the Auckland Council. Simpson was selected to be deputy by incoming mayor Wayne Brown. Beyond committees of the whole council, the deputy mayor is an ex-officio member of the following Auckland Council committees: * Appointments and Performance Review Committee * Civil Defence & Emergency Management Committee * Community Development and Safety Committee * Regulatory Committee * Auckland Domain Committee Like any other councillor, the deputy mayor may be appointed to additional committees which the mayor wishes to appoint them to.

List of deputy mayors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor Of Auckland

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Mayor of Auckland Politics of the Auckland Region Auckland Council