Mayor of Auckland

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

For the Mayor of Auckland prior to 2010, see Mayor of Auckland City.

Mayor of Auckland
Incumbent Phil Goff since 1 November 2016
Style	His Worship
Term length	Three years
Inaugural holder	Len Brown
Formation	1 November 2010
Deputy	Bill Cashmore
Salary	$269,500 p.a.[1]
Website	Official website

Role of mayor

The mayor has significant executive powers, their own staff and the ability to appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees. 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, and also the Auckland Regional Council. Before 2010, "Mayor of Auckland" was an informal term applied to the Mayor of Auckland City, head of the Auckland City Council.

In the first mayoral election for Auckland Council in 2010, outgoing Mayor of Manukau City Len Brown was elected, defeating outgoing Mayor of Auckland City John Banks, outgoing Mayor of North Shore City Andrew Williams and prominent Christian businessman Colin Craig, amongst others. The mayoral office had a budget of $4.1 million and a staff of 18 in 2011.[2] Brown preferred not to use the honorific "His Worship".[3]

Contenders in the 2013 Auckland mayoral election included Brown, John Minto[4] and John Palino. Brown was re-elected.

Brown announced in November 2015 that he would not contest the 2016 mayoralty election.[5] There were 19 contenders for the position, and Phil Goff won against Victoria Crone, John Palino, and Chlöe Swarbrick.[6][7]

List of mayors

#	Name	Portrait	Elections	Entered office	Left office	Deputy
1	Len Brown		2010 2013	1 November 2010	14 October 2016	Penny Hulse
2	Phil Goff		2016 2019	1 November 2016	Incumbent	Bill Cashmore

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, this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. They are appointed by the mayor from the elected ward councillors.[8] The current deputy mayor is Bill Cashmore, who currently represents the Franklin ward on the Auckland Council. Cashmore was announced as deputy mayor in October 2016, and assumed office upon the swearing in of the new council.[9]

Beyond committees of the whole council, the deputy mayor is an ex-officio member of the following Auckland Council committees:[10]

• 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

Mayor		Deputy mayor		Ward represented	Affiliation	Assumed office	Left office
1	Len Brown	1	Penny Hulse	Waitākere Ward	Independent	1 November 2010	31 October 2016
					West at Heart
2	Phil Goff	2	Bill Cashmore	Franklin Ward	Team Franklin	1 November 2016	Incumbent

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Orsman, Bernard (9 February 2011). "Council's Maori board to cost $3.4m". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
3. "Meet your mayor". Auckland Council. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
4. Whiteacre, Charlotte (16 April 2013). "John Minto for Auckland mayor?". 3 News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
5. "Auckland mayor Len Brown will not stand again". Auckland Now. Fairfax New Zealand. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
6. "Compare the policies of Auckland's mayoral candidates". Radio New Zealand. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
7. "Goff 27% ahead of nearest Mayoral rival". Horizon Research. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
8. "Role of the mayor". www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
9. "Mayor elect announces Deputy and new Council committees". OurAuckland. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
10. "Committee members and contacts". www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 January 2017.