An election was held for the Mayor of Auckland in September and October 2016, closing on 8 October, as part of the 2016 Auckland local government elections. Phil Goff was elected.

Background

Len Brown, previously the

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 ...

, was elected to three-year terms as Mayor of Auckland in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, following the merger of several councils, including Manukau City Council, to form

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

in 2010. He did not stand in 2016.

Candidates

*Mario Alupis. *Aileen Austin (Independent). * Penny Bright (Independent), activist and 2013 mayoral candidate. *Patrick Brown (Communist League). *Tricia Cheel (STOP). *Victoria Crone (Independent), New Zealand managing director of

Xero Xero may refer to: *Xero (band), an Australian punk band *Xero (company), a New Zealand financial software company * ''Xero'' (film), an experimental 2010 German film *Xero (Linkin Park), an early name for the band Linkin Park, as well as a demo ...

; announced candidacy on 14 December 2015. * Phil Goff (Independent),

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP for Mount Roskill; announced candidacy on 22 November 2015. *David Hay (Independent), former Green parliamentary candidate for Rodney and Epsom and former policy analyst for

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

and

; announced candidacy on 20 November 2015. *Alezix Heneti. *Adam Holland (Auckland Legalise Cannabis), perennial candidate *Susanna Kruger *Stan Martin (Independent). *Bin Thanh Nguyen (Independent). *Phil O'Conner (Christians Against Abortion). *John Palino (Independent), entrepreneur and 2013 mayoral runner-up; confirmed candidacy on 29 February 2016. *Tyrone Raumati (Greater Auckland), West Auckland based community leader. * Chlöe Swarbrick (Independent), University of Auckland double graduate, journalist, and entrepreneur; announced candidacy on 4 July 2016. *Mark Thomas (Independent), deputy chair of the Ōrākei Local Board; announced candidacy on 24 September 2015. During September he asked to withdraw from the race, conceding that it was "inevitable" that Phil Goff would win the election. Although he could not be removed from the ballot papers, Thomas refocused his campaign on Goff. *Wayne Young.

Prospective candidates who did not stand

* Len Brown, incumbent mayor *

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 ...

, former Mayor of Auckland City, former

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

MP for Whangarei, ACT MP for Epsom and 2010 mayoral candidate *Michael Barnett, CEO of the

Auckland Chamber of Commerce Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

* Stephen Berry (Affordable Auckland), second runner-up in 2013 mayoral election and ACT candidate for parliamentary electorate of Upper Harbour in 2014 general election; announced candidacy on 11 April 2015 for the mayor as well as council seat for the

Albany ward Hannam Edward Albany Ward (6 November 1879 – 18 February 1966), known as Albany Ward, was a pioneer English theatre proprietor and cinema developer, who ran one of the largest cinema circuits in Britain in the early part of the twentieth century ...

. Withdrew from mayoral race on 21 March 2016 and endorsed John Palino. * Cameron Brewer, Auckland councillor for the Ōrākei ward * Colin Craig, founder and former leader of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

*Tex Edwards, co-founder of mobile telecommunications company

2degrees 2degrees is a New Zealand telecommunications provider. Its mobile network launched on 4 August 2009 after nine years of planning. 2degrees offers prepaid and pay-monthly mobile services as well as fixed-line phone and broadband services. 2degree ...

* Theresa Gattung, former CEO of Telecom New Zealand * Paul Henry, broadcaster * Penny Hulse, incumbent deputy mayor of Auckland * Maurice Williamson, National MP for Pakuranga

Debates

A debate held on 15 February was attended by Goff, Crone, Bright, Thomas,

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

and Hay. Goff promoted the public-private partnership construction of a light rail network in Auckland, while

described the idea as fiscally irresponsible and out of date. Maria Slade of Stuff.co.nz opined the debate outcome as a victory for Goff. Goff, Crone and Thomas participated in a 17 June debate, in which

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

was discussed, and Goff lamented the late commitment to the

City Rail Link The City Rail Link (CRL) is a rail project currently under construction in Auckland, New Zealand. The project consists of a 3.5 km long double-track rail tunnel underneath Auckland's city centre, between Britomart Transport Centre and M ...

as an example of poor investment in public infrastructure. A debate was scheduled for 8 September at the University of Auckland's School of Architecture and Planning, to be chaired by journalist Rod Oram.

Opinion polling

Results

By local board

Source:

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auckland Mayoral Election, 2016 Mayoral elections in Auckland Auckland Council 2016 elections in New Zealand 2010s in Auckland October 2016 events in New Zealand