Candidate Kerrin Leoni blames the low turnout on Mayor Wayne Brown's refusal to debate issues. Photo: photka/123RF
Two Auckland mayoral candidates have given mixed reactions to voter turnout in the city's local elections so far.
More than 100,000 Aucklanders had voted, with just under two weeks left to do so.
Auckland Council said 116,875 votes had been received by Friday, 26 September - just 9.2 percent of eligible voters. In the 2022 elections, 405,149 people - just 35.5 percent of those enrolled - voted.
A spokesperson for incumbent mayor Wayne Brown's campaign was confident about how the mayoral election was shaping up.
"The turnout seems to be running well, with people taking advantage of the numerous drop-off bins," they said. "We expect the usual last-minute rush.
"Wayne is focused on delivering results for the people of Auckland. He trusts they will back him to lead the city, giving him a powerful mandate for his negotiations with Wellington.
"Our campaign team is hearing strong, daily support on the ground for Wayne's clear agenda and motivation to fix Auckland."
The spokesperson said "engagement metrics and key turnout indicators" had surpassed his 2022 mayoral campaign, but challenger and Auckland Councillor Kerrin Leoni said the way voter turnout was tracking was "appalling".
She partly blamed Brown not accepting invitations to debate her and poor media coverage of candidates.
"The two main contenders - myself and Wayne Brown - have not really had any debates to show what our policies are," Leoni said. "I think people are feeling disengaged because of that.
"Usually, that's what defines people's choice on how they're going to vote.
"I've even heard that some people, because they don't know what our policies are, deciding not to vote for mayor, just councillors and local board members, which is a real shame.
Mayor Wayne Brown attends a candidates' event in south Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Liu Chen
"People haven't been able to get to know us through mainstream media over the last six months. It has been mainly Wayne, as the incumbent, who has received most of the media, but people need to know there are others that they can actually vote for.
"The concern I have is that people may just vote for the incumbent, based on name recognition, not his policies. I hope that Aucklanders read the booklet and do their research."
She did not think Brown was a shoo-in for mayor.
"I don't think he has it in the bag."
She questioned the accuracy of a poll commissioned by the Brown campaign, released by The Post this month.
The survey of 1246 Auckland residents, conducted between 11-15 August, determined nearly two-thirds of voters (59-65% percent) intended to vote for Brown.
Leoni was in third place at just seven percent, behind candidate Rob McNeil, according to the poll.
"If his voters had actually gone out and voted for him, he would've had at least 180,000 votes by now, because all the voting papers have gone out," she said.
Leoni was concerned about low voter turnout in the south Auckland suburbs of Manurewa and Papakura in particular.
"We don't want a 20 percent voter turnout," she said. "What kind of mandate would that give those elected members, if not even a quarter of Aucklanders actually vote?"
She was optimistic that an upcoming interview on TVNZ's Q&A with Jack Tame would raise her profile. Brown's campaign also confirmed he would do a separate interview on Q&A.
Leoni said it was unacceptable that she and Brown had not debated each other.
"Aucklanders need to hear from both of us at the same time to be able to have a debate and answer the hard questions.
Mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni claims voters lack enough information to make an informed vote. Photo: RNZ / Jessica Hopkins
"It's appalling behaviour by our current mayor and I hope Aucklanders, as a result of that interview to be aired on Sunday, will be given a little more information about the policies both of us are trying to achieve, if elected.
Leoni said she had recently been endorsed by former mayor Phil Goff, former MP and Māori Statutory Board deputy chair Tau Henare, and incumbent south Auckland councillors Alf Filipaina and Lotu Fuli.
Brown's campaign pushed back on Leoni's concerns.
"Voter turnout is now at nearly 10 percent, with still two weeks of voting ahead. Her numbers are, as usual", wrong.
"Wayne Brown has run a high-profile campaign and been in the media every day. He takes no responsibility for her campaign's failure to connect with Auckland."
When asked, the campaign did not name any high-profile endorsements.
"Wayne Brown seeks only one endorsement - the votes of Aucklanders."
The council told RNZ it could not compare the number of votes returned to this time last elections, as the voting period had been extended from 22 days to 32 days this year, but policy, planning and governance director Megan Tyler said it was pleased to see votes steadily coming through.
"It's encouraging to see Aucklanders getting in early," she said. "Remember to get your vote in as early as possible - and before midday, Saturday 11 October - so you can choose who represents you in shaping the future of our region."
The total voting numbers and turnout rates for each local board and subdivision area were updated daily on the Vote Auckland website.
