The 2019 Auckland local elections took place between September and October 2019 by

postal vote Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. In an el ...

as part of nation-wide local elections. The elections were the fourth since the merger of seven councils into the

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 a ...

, which is composed of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

and 20 councillors, and 149 members of 21 local boards. Twenty-one district health board members and 41 licensing trust members were also elected.

Mayoral election

The incumbent mayor,

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 No ...

, sought a second term and was re-elected ahead of second highest polling candidate John Tamihere.

Governing body elections

Twenty members were elected to the

, across thirteen wards, using the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

vote system. The

Auckland Future Auckland Future is a centre-right political ticket that ran for local seats under the Auckland Council in 2016. It campaigned on a fiscally conservative platform. It did not stand candidates in the 2019 election. Policies Auckland Future has ...

ticket, holding four local body seats since 2016, announced in March 2019 that it would not field candidates. Mike Lee, sitting councillor for Waitemata and Gulf ward, announced in late-June 2019 that he would run again. The

City Vision City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Re ...

ticket, which had endorsed Lee since 1998, had selected Pippa Coom as its candidate in March 2019. The final candidate list was released on 19 August.

Rodney ward (1)

Incumbent Greg Sayers was the only nomination.

Albany ward (2)

Incumbents Walker and Watson both ran for re-election under the ticket "Putting People First".

North Shore ward North Shore Ward is an Auckland Council ward that elects two councillors and covers the Devonport-Takapuna and Kaipātiki Local Boards. The two councillors are currently Richard Hills and Chris Darby. Demographics North Shore ward covers and h ...
(2)

Incumbents Darby and Hills both sought re-election.

Waitākere Ward (2)

Of the two incumbents, Linda Cooper sought re-election and

Penny Hulse Penelope Anne Hulse is a New Zealand politician, and was Deputy Mayor of Auckland from the formation of the Auckland Council Super City until 2016. She continues to represent the Waitākere Ward on the Auckland Council and is Chair of the Envi ...

retired.

Waitemata and Gulf ward (1)

Incumbent Mike Lee sought re-election.

Whau ward (1)

Incumbent Ross Clow sought re-election.

Albert-Eden-Roskill ward (2)

Incumbents Casey and Fletcher both sought re-election.

Maungakiekie-Tamaki ward (1)

Incumbent Josephine Bartley sought re-election.

Manukau ward (2)

Incumbents Collins and Filipaina both sought re-election.

Manurewa-Papakura ward (2)

Of the two incumbents, Daniel Newman sought re-election and John Walker retired.

Franklin ward (1)

Incumbent Bill Cashmore was the only nomination.

Ōrākei ward (1)

Incumbent Desley Simpson sought re-election.

Howick ward (2)

Incumbents Stewart and Young both sought re-election.

Licensing Trust elections

35 Members were elected to 5 licensing trusts across Auckland.

Birkenhead Licensing Trust (6)

Mt Wellington Licensing Trust (6)

Portage Licensing Trust

Ward No 1 – Auckland City (3)

Ward No 2 – New Lynn (2)

Ward No 3 – Glen Eden (2)

Ward No 4 – Titirangi / Green Bay (2)

Ward No 5 – Kelston West (1)

Waitakere Licensing Trust

Ward No 1 – Te Atatū (2)

Ward No 2 –Lincoln (3)

Ward No 3 – Waitakere (1)

Ward No 4 – Henderson (1)

Wiri Licensing Trust (6)

Term-end performance assessment

Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson, the local government reporters from ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspaper ...

'', both assessed the performance of each elected member at the end of the term. Their ratings, from 1 to 10 (worst to best), were compiled without them comparing notes. Orsman and Wilson are known to be at opposing end of the political spectrum. Seven out of their twenty-one ratings are identical. Orsman assigned rates from 3 to 8, while Wilson had councillors rated from 1 to 10.

References

{{Auckland Council elections Politics of the Auckland Region Mayoral elections in Auckland

Auckland 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 I ...