2019 Auckland mayoral election

New Zealand mayoral election

2019 Auckland mayoral election | <- 2016 | 12 October 2019 | 2022 ->

|
|

Registered| 1,065,383
Turnout| 367,796 (34.52%)
|  |  |  |

|
|
|

Candidate  | Phil Goff | John Tamihere | Craig Lord
Party  | Independent | Independent | Independent
Popular vote  | 180,146 | 80,903  | 29,577
Percentage  | 48.97% | 21.99%  | 8.04%

* * *

Margin of victory in local board subdivisions

* * *

| Mayor before election

Phil Goff

| Elected mayor

Phil Goff

|

The 2019 Auckland mayoral election was held on 12 October 2019 to determine who would serve as Mayor of Auckland for the next three years. Nominations opened on 19 July 2019 and closed on 16 August 2019.[1] Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff won the election with 48% of the vote to secure a second term.[2][3]

## Background

[edit]

Phil Goff was the incumbent mayor of Auckland. Goff became mayor at the 2016 election in which the previous mayor, Len Brown, did not stand. Goff announced in March 2019 that he would stand again.[4]

The election was conducted by postal vote, and used the first past the post vote system.[5]

## Key dates

[edit]

Key dates for the election were:[6]

* 1 July: Electoral Commission enrolment campaign began.
* 19 July: Nominations opened for candidates. Rolls opened for inspection.
* 16 August: Nominations closed at 12 noon. Rolls closed.
* 21 August: Election date and candidates' names announced.
* 20 to 25 September: Voting documents delivered to households. Electors could post the documents back to electoral officers as soon as they had voted.
* 12 October: Polling day. Voting documents had to be at council before voting closed at 12 noon. Preliminary results were to be available as soon as all ordinary votes were counted.
* 17 to 23 October: Official results, including all valid ordinary and special votes, declared.

## Candidates

[edit]

The 21 candidates for the mayoralty were:[7][8]

Name  | Affiliation  | Notes

|
|

Tricia Cheel  | STOP Trashing our Planet  | Cheel had previously run for mayor,[9] and had stood for Parliament for the Ban 1080 Party[10] and the Democrats for Social Credit.[11] She has opposed fluoride,[9] vaccinations,[12] glyphosate,[13] and 1080 drops.[10]
Michael Coote  | Independent  |
David John Feist  | LiftNZ  |
Genevieve Forde  | none | Forde's main issues were addressing climate change and regenerating nature.[14]
Phil Goff | Independent  | The incumbent mayor, in the role since 2016. Goff was a Labour Party Member of Parliament 1981–1990 and 1993–2016, and was leader of the party for three years. He resigned as an MP after being elected as mayor and ran as an independent in this election.[15]
Alezix Heneti  | none |
Jannaha Henry  | none | A 21-year old candidate.[16]
John Hong  | Independent  | Also known as Hong Cheng Chen,[17] he immigrated from China in 2003[18] and ran for mayor for the first time.[19] A right-wing candidate, he had previously worked for Panuku Development Auckland, and was the chair of the New Zealand promotion committee for China's Belt and Road Initiative and a government relations adviser for the Chao San General Association of New Zealand.[17]
Ted Johnston  | none | A 59-year-old criminal barrister from South Auckland and former parliamentary candidate for The Opportunities Party. Policies included helping the poor and disadvantaged, stopping "secret meetings", protecting parks and the environment and building fast rail.[citation needed]
Susanna Kruger  | Justice for Families  |
Craig Lord  | Independent  | A media operator,[15] this was Lord's first time standing in an election. Lord stated that he had no policies and that he considered the mayor to be a 'token' job, given the role of the 20 other councillors.[20]
Brendan Bruce Maddern  | Independent  |
Thanh Binh Nguyen  | Independent  |
Phil O'Connor  | Christians Against Abortion  |
Tom Sainsbury | Independent  | A comedian running under an alter-ego of Fiona (though the name on the ballot was Tom Sainsbury). Fiona claimed in a video that running for mayor was a mistake she made when drunk.[21]
Glen Snelgar  | Old Skool  | A right-wing candidate who sought to remove fuel taxes and lower rates.[19]
Tadhg Tim Stopford  | The Hemp Foundation  | Stopford is the founder of The Hemp Foundation,[22] which seeks to promote cannabinoids for medicine and industrial uses.[23]
John Tamihere | JT for Mayor  | Tamihere was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, and held Cabinet positions.[24] He was not affiliated with Labour in this election.
Peter Vaughan  | none | A numerologist,[25] Vaughan stated that pollution is the biggest issue facing Auckland, particularly landfills.[19]
Annalucia Vermunt  | Communist League  |
Wayne Young  | Virtual Homeless Community  |

### Prospective candidates who did not stand

[edit]

The following people indicated they might, or would, run for mayor in this election, but ultimately did not.

* Mike Lee, councillor[26]
* John Lehmann, president of the Government Accountability League – announced intention to run[27][28] but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed
* Joshua Love, hospitality entrepreneur – announced intention to run[29] but did not appear in the list of candidates when nominations closed
* Simon O'Connor, MP for Tamaki[30]
* John Palino, restaurateur and 2013 and 2016 candidate – announced intention to run on 25 November 2018[31] but withdrew on 12 August 2019,[32] intending to run for Auckland Council instead.[33]

## Policies and campaigning

[edit]

The campaign included a number of debates. One debate between Goff, Tamihere, Lord, and Henry discussed issues such as infrastructure, public transport, climate change, parking, and inequality, among other topics.[34] The last debate was on 1 October.[35] Candidate Phil Goff compared the campaign to the previous one saying: "It's a lot different from last time, we had a lot of meetings last time, it's been a more aggressive campaign from his [John Tamihere's] side."[36]

Candidate John Tamihere faced controversy for using the term "Sieg Heil" during a debate. After Goff stated "We won't put up with the sort of nonsense that we get from racists coming into this country to tell us that multiculturalism doesn't work," Tamihere responded, "I say sieg heil to that." After the debate, Tamihere initially denied using the term, then stated his comments were a criticism of Goff's actions around a decision to bar controversial Canadian speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern from using an Auckland Council venue in 2018, calling Goff "a dictator".[37]

Tamihere made a complaint over three social media posts posted by Phil Goff, but the complaints were rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority.[38][39]

Some voting booklets contained two incorrect photographs, including showing mayoral candidate Tricia Cheel as a man.[40]

## Endorsements

[edit]

Phil Goff

* New Zealand Labour Party – political party[41]
* David Tua – professional boxer[42]

John Tamihere

* Christine Fletcher – current councillor[43]
* John Banks – former Mayor of Auckland City[44]

## Results

[edit]

2019 Auckland mayoral election[45][46] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Independent | Phil Goff | 180,146  | 48.97  | +1.68
| Independent | John Tamihere | 80,903  | 21.99  |
| Independent | Craig Lord  | 29,577  | 8.04  |
| Independent | John Hong  | 16,211  | 4.40  |
| Independent | Ted Johnston  | 15,637  | 4.25  |
| Independent | Peter Vaughan  | 6,214  | 1.68  |
| Independent | Michael Coote  | 5,611  | 1.52  |
| STOP Trashing Our Planet  | Tricia Cheel  | 4,116  | 1.11  | +0.60
| Christians Against Abortion  | Phil O'Connor  | 3,984  | 1.08  | +0.55
| Independent | Genevieve Forde  | 2,923  | 0.79  |
| Justice For Families  | Susanna Kruger  | 2,894  | 0.78  | +0.36
| Independent | Tom Sainsbury  | 2,853  | 0.77  |
| Old Skool  | Glen Snelgar  | 2,608  | 0.70  |
| The Hemp Foundation  | Tadhg Stopford  | 2,445  | 0.66  |
| Independent | Jannaha Henry  | 2,417  | 0.65  |
| LiftNZ  | David Feist  | 2,301  | 0.62  |
| Independent | Brendan Maddern  | 1,446  | 0.39  |
| Virtual Homeless Community  | Wayne Young  | 1,412  | 0.38  | −0.03
| Communist League | Annalucia Vermunt  | 1,055  | 0.28  |
| Independent | Thanh Binh Nguyen  | 954  | 0.25  | ±0.00
| Independent | Alezix Heneti  | 514  | 0.13  | −0.02
Total valid votes  | 366,221  | 99.57  |
Informal votes  | 1,575  | 0.43  | +0.06
Majority | 99,243  | 26.98  | +7.85
Turnout | 367,796  | 34.52  | −3.37
Registered electors | 1,065,383  |  |

### By local board

[edit]

Local board subdivisions won by Goff

Local board subdivision won by Lord

Source:[47]

|  | Phil Goff  | John Tamihere  | Craig Lord  | John Hong  | Ted Johnston  | Others[A] | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Board  | Subdivision[B] | #  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %  | #  | %  | #
Albert-Eden  | Owairaka | 7,980 | 63.31 | 2,058 | 16.33 | 622 | 4.93 | 386 | 3.06 | 369 | 2.93 | 1189 | 9.43 | 12,604
Albert-Eden  | Maungawhau | 7,561 | 58.36 | 2,630 | 20.3 | 495 | 3.82 | 762 | 5.88 | 423 | 3.27 | 1084 | 8.37 | 12,955
Aotea/GreatBarrier  | — | 200 | 47.73 | 93 | 22.2 | 30 | 7.16 | 1 | 0.24 | 9 | 2.15 | 86 | 20.53 | 419
Devonport-Takapuna  | — | 8,568 | 50.89 | 3,647 | 21.66 | 1,103 | 6.55 | 814 | 4.83 | 825 | 4.9 | 1,880 | 11.17 | 16,837
Franklin  | Waiuku | 1,530 | 39.28 | 770 | 19.77 | 737 | 18.92 | 44 | 1.13 | 222 | 5.7 | 592 | 15.2 | 3,895
Franklin  | Pukekohe | 3,714 | 43.54 | 1,738 | 20.37 | 1,458 | 17.09 | 87 | 1.02 | 447 | 5.24 | 1,087 | 12.74 | 8,531
Franklin  | Wairoa | 3,027 | 45.77 | 1,509 | 22.82 | 899 | 13.59 | 98 | 1.48 | 326 | 4.93 | 755 | 11.42 | 6,614
Henderson-Massey  | — | 10,240 | 42.83 | 6,480 | 27.1 | 2,100 | 8.78 | 1,095 | 4.58 | 808 | 3.38 | 3,185 | 13.32 | 23,908
Hibiscus and Bays  | Hibiscus Coast | 6,536 | 40.37 | 4,039 | 24.94 | 2,075 | 12.81 | 305 | 1.88 | 968 | 5.98 | 2,269 | 14.01 | 16,192
Hibiscus and Bays  | East Coast Bays | 5,731 | 44.01 | 2,825 | 21.7 | 1,176 | 9.03 | 786 | 6.04 | 823 | 6.32 | 1,680 | 12.9 | 13,021
Howick  | Pakuranga | 4,866 | 43.53 | 2,442 | 21.85 | 786 | 7.03 | 1,273 | 11.39 | 547 | 4.89 | 1,264 | 11.31 | 11,178
Howick  | Howick | 5,525 | 43.77 | 2,878 | 22.8 | 1,061 | 8.4 | 1,118 | 8.86 | 678 | 5.37 | 1,364 | 10.8 | 12,624
Howick  | Botany | 5,989 | 45.29 | 2647 | 20.02 | 669 | 5.06 | 1762 | 13.32 | 566 | 4.28 | 1,592 | 12.04 | 13,225
Kaipātiki  | — | 10,066 | 48.94 | 3,990 | 19.4 | 1,802 | 8.76 | 1,194 | 5.8 | 780 | 3.79 | 2,738 | 13.31 | 20,570
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu  | — | 6,578 | 54.37 | 2,855 | 23.6 | 388 | 3.21 | 156 | 1.29 | 403 | 3.33 | 1,719 | 14.21 | 12,099
Manurewa  | — | 7,454 | 48.58 | 3,886 | 25.32 | 795 | 5.18 | 341 | 2.22 | 646 | 4.21 | 2,223 | 14.49 | 15,345
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki  | Maungakiekie | 4,157 | 57.95 | 1,361 | 18.97 | 399 | 5.56 | 249 | 3.47 | 298 | 4.15 | 710 | 9.9 | 7,174
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki  | Tāmaki | 4,491 | 51.97 | 1,803 | 20.87 | 410 | 4.74 | 318 | 3.68 | 348 | 4.03 | 1,271 | 14.71 | 8,641
Ōrākei  | — | 13,799 | 52.9 | 6,602 | 25.31 | 1,296 | 4.97 | 848 | 3.25 | 1,247 | 4.78 | 2,295 | 8.8 | 26,087
Ōtara-Papatoetoe  | Papatoetoe | 4,136 | 53.73 | 1,674 | 21.75 | 296 | 3.85 | 215 | 2.79 | 312 | 4.05 | 1,065 | 13.83 | 7,698
Ōtara-Papatoetoe  | Otara | 2,527 | 51.81 | 1,304 | 26.74 | 80 | 1.64 | 78 | 1.6 | 188 | 3.85 | 700 | 14.35 | 4,877
Papakura  | — | 5,285 | 47.91 | 2,575 | 23.34 | 992 | 8.99 | 207 | 1.88 | 498 | 4.51 | 1,474 | 13.36 | 11,031
Puketāpapa  | — | 8,427 | 60.49 | 2,490 | 17.87 | 605 | 4.34 | 844 | 6.06 | 416 | 2.99 | 1,150 | 8.25 | 13,932
Rodney  | Wellsford | 308 | 20.37 | 365 | 24.14 | 570 | 37.7 | 16 | 1.06 | 58 | 3.84 | 195 | 12.9 | 1,512
Rodney  | Warkworth | 2,499 | 36.2 | 1,793 | 25.97 | 1,256 | 18.19 | 53 | 0.77 | 359 | 5.2 | 943 | 13.66 | 6,903
Rodney  | Kumeu | 2,792 | 33.42 | 2,103 | 25.17 | 1,785 | 21.36 | 112 | 1.34 | 425 | 5.09 | 1,138 | 13.62 | 8,355
Rodney  | Dairy Flat | 609 | 34.48 | 509 | 28.82 | 226 | 12.8 | 79 | 4.47 | 130 | 7.36 | 213 | 12.06 | 1,766
Upper Harbour  | Upper Harbour | 5,831 | 39.7 | 3,307 | 22.52 | 1,544 | 10.51 | 1,380 | 9.4 | 727 | 4.95 | 1,898 | 12.92 | 14,687
Waiheke  | — | 1,799 | 54.88 | 608 | 18.55 | 218 | 6.65 | 13 | 0.4 | 178 | 5.43 | 462 | 14.09 | 3,278
Waitākere Ranges  | — | 7,231 | 51.33 | 2,771 | 19.67 | 1,698 | 12.05 | 201 | 1.43 | 437 | 3.1 | 1,749 | 12.42 | 14,087
Waitematā  | — | 11,342 | 61.46 | 3,535 | 19.16 | 678 | 3.67 | 374 | 2.03 | 658 | 3.57 | 1,867 | 10.12 | 18,454
Whau  | — | 9,348 | 52.75 | 3,616 | 20.4 | 1,328 | 7.49 | 1,002 | 5.65 | 518 | 2.92 | 1,910 | 10.78 | 17,722
Total  | 180,146 | 49.19 | 80,903 | 22.09 | 29,577 | 8.08 | 16,211 | 4.43 | 15,637 | 4.27 | 43,747 | 11.95 | 366,221

## Turnout

[edit]

Turnout was expected to be lower than in previous elections. Initial counts, while voting was still open, showed turnout to be lower compared with the same time in the 2016 election.[38][35] The final turnout for Auckland was predicted to be around 35%.[48][49]

## See also

[edit]

* 2019 Auckland local elections

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Excludes informal votes
2. ^ Not all local boards are subdivided

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "About your 2019 local elections". 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
2. ^ "Live: All results from the local government elections 2019". 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
3. ^ "Phil Goff wins a second term as Auckland Mayor". The New Zealand Herald. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
4. ^ "Phil Goff seeks second term as Auckland mayor". Stuff. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
5. ^ "How to vote in the local elections". Auckland Council. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
6. ^ "Race for the mayoralty: What you need to know". Radio NZ. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
7. ^ "Auckland local elections: Mayoral candidates officially announced". Stuff.co.nz. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
8. ^ "Candidate List | 10 September 2019" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
9. ^ a b "Auckland's mayoral also-rans bicker and squabble". Newshub. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
10. ^ a b "Anti-1080 campaigner says she's relieved at news of arrest". RNZ. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
11. ^ "Northcote by-election – the results". Newshub. 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
12. ^ "New video of Lance O'Sullivan clashing with anti-vaxxer emerges". Newshub. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
13. ^ "Mayoral candidates: Meet the 18 trying to win the Auckland mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
14. ^ Council, Auckland. "Candidate information". Auckland Council. Retrieved 3 October 2019.[permanent dead link]
15. ^ a b "Phil Goff seeks second term as Auckland mayor". 3 March 2019.
16. ^ Niall, Todd (17 August 2019). "Auckland mayoral race: 21-year-old to run". Stuff. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
17. ^ a b Murphy, Tim (11 October 2019). "Beyond John Hong's political debut". Newsroom. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
18. ^ "John Hong | Independent Auckland Mayoral Candidate". John Hong 2019. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
19. ^ a b c "Auckland mayoralty: Four lesser-known candidates' present their ideas". Newshub. 18 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
20. ^ Truebridge, Nick (25 July 2019). "Meet the Candidates: 'Grassroots' Auckland mayoral hopeful Craig Lord attacks higher-profile rivals". Stuff. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
21. ^ "Comedian Tom Sainsbury has thrown his hat into the Auckland mayoral race". Stuff.co.nz. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
22. ^ "The Hemp Foundation / Our Team". thehempfoundation. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
23. ^ "The Hemp Foundation / Objectives". thehempfoundation. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
24. ^ "John Tamihere confirms run for Auckland mayoralty". Newshub – newshub.co.nz. 26 January 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
25. ^ "Numerologist Peter Vaughan runs for Auckland mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
26. ^ "Veteran politician Mike Lee might challenge Phil Goff for Auckland mayoralty". Stuff.co.nz. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
27. ^ "Another hat in the ring: John Lehmann confirms bid for Auckland mayoralty". The New Zealand Herald. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
28. ^ "Group invites Phil Goff to debate free speech with Pauline Hanson at a council-owned venue". Newshub – newshub.co.nz. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
29. ^ Lawton, Nicole (14 February 2019). "Lime e-scooter glitch: Injured Auckland man calls on Mayor Phil Goff to take action". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
30. ^ Orsman, Bernard (21 November 2018). "National MP Simon O'Connor considering a tilt at the Auckland mayoralty". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
31. ^ Christian, Harrison (25 November 2018). "John Palino confirms another tilt at Auckland mayoralty". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
32. ^ "John Palino withdraws from Auckland mayoral race". Radio New Zealand. 12 August 2019.
33. ^ "John Palino withdraws from Auckland mayoral race".
34. ^ "Stuff Auckland mayoral debate recap: Polished Goff smothers opposition with stats, calls out 'Trumpism'". Stuff. 2 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
35. ^ a b "Auckland mayoral race: No worries about low voter turnout". Stuff. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
36. ^ "Mayoral candidates worried about voter engagement". RNZ. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
37. ^ Truebridge, Nick (18 September 2019). "Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere's Nazi slogan 'utterly unacceptable'". Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
38. ^ a b Niall, Todd (28 September 2019). "Auckland Council Election: Voting trend remains at an all-time low". Stuff. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
39. ^ "Complaint number 19/356" (PDF). ASA Complaints Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019.
40. ^ "Electoral Board blunder puts wrong candidate photos on Auckland booklets". 22 September 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
41. ^ Niall, Todd (20 December 2018). "Labour endorses Phil Goff for 2019 Auckland mayoralty". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
42. ^ Goff, Phil (9 August 219). "David Tua". Facebook. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
43. ^ "John Tamihere and Christine Fletcher team up to challenge Auckland Mayor Phil Goff". Stuff.co.nz. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
44. ^ "Former Auckland City Mayor John Banks decides against fresh campaign". Stuff.co.nz. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
45. ^ "2019 local elections final results – Mayor, local board members, ward councillors" (PDF). Auckland Council. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
46. ^ "Voting Document Returns - 2019 Elections" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
47. ^ "2019 local elections final results – Mayoral candidates total votes by local board/subdivision" (PDF). Auckland Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2019.
48. ^ Donnell, Hayden (13 October 2019). "Winners, losers, big losers, and gigantic losers from the 2019 local elections". The Spinoff. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
49. ^ "Preliminary voter turnout 2019". www.lgnz.co.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2019.[permanent dead link]

* v
* t
* e

(2016 ←)  2019 New Zealand local elections (→ 2022)

Elections
(non-exhaustive)|

| Regional|

* Bay of Plenty
* Hawke's Bay
* Greater Wellington

|

Local|

* Far North
* Auckland (mayoral)
* Hamilton (mayoral)
* Tauranga (mayoral)
* Lower Hutt (mayoral)
* Wellington (mayoral)

* * *

* Tasman
* Nelson (mayoral)
* Christchurch (mayoral)
* Dunedin (mayoral)
* Invercargill (mayoral)

Related articles|

* Local elections in New Zealand

* v
* t
* e

Auckland local body elections

Mayoral elections|

* 2010
* 2013
* 2016
* 2019
* 2022
* 2025

Council elections|

* 2010
* 2013
* 2016
* 2019
* 2022
* 2025

Local board elections|

* 2010
* 2013
* 2016
* 2019
* 2022
* 2025

By-elections
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template