A few more people voted this time, around 38%, against 35% in 2013. But such a small turnout is still a pathetic ‘nose-thumb’ at democracy.
In our Waitemata Ward, one Auckland Future candidate made it on to the board, Mark Davey, along with one independent, incumbent Rob Thomas, whose council seat attempt was well short of the mark.
City Vision took five of the seven seats on the Waitemata Local Board, with Pippa Coom topping the poll again, and Vernon Tava just scraping in by 10 votes in seventh place after the counting of special votes.
A good scrap was anticipated for the one council seat in Waitemata between incumbent Mike Lee and well-known newcomer Bill Ralston, an independent backed by Auckland Future. There were people who thought Mike Lee had reached his use-by date.
I was not one of those. He has vast experience and has been constantly niggling at bureaucrats, especially Auckland Transport ones, for the whole of the last term. He said he has unfinished business to attend to, and the electorate agreed, returning him with
a thousand votes to spare over Bill Ralston. Nevertheless, it will probably be Lee’s last term on council.
Apart from Shale Chambers, Pippa Coom and Vernon Tava, newcomers to the Waitemata Local Board were the older and experienced Richard Northey, and the young up and comer Adriana Christie. Both will be assets this term.
As expected, Phil Goff romped in as mayor. He beat Vic Crone by nearly 100,000 votes. Young phenomenon Chloe Swarbrick rocked the boat with nearly 30,000 votes.
Goff’s vast central government experience should be helpful when he has to garner support from Wellington for Auckland projects. There will be posturing between National and the Labour Goff, but real cooperation is a probability. Auckland is too big a voting lobby for National to ignore - with an election next year. (JOHN ELLIOTT)