Aucklanders have re-elected Wayne Brown as mayor in the 2025 local elections, giving him a second and final term to complete the work he began three years ago.
Brown, who campaigned on fixing Auckland’s transport system, said he was “relieved and humbled” by the strong support from voters.
Speaking to media at Karanga Plaza Harbour Pool — which he affectionately calls “Brownie’s Pool” — shortly after preliminary results were released on Saturday afternoon, Brown admitted the campaign had been tough.
“It’s been like being in the dentist’s chair for six weeks,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy it, I don’t enjoy campaigning.”
Voting closed at midday Saturday, with more than 1 million votes counted across 78 city, district, and regional councils nationwide. Local Government NZ reported a voter turnout of 31.61%. Final results for close races are expected next week.
Brown confirmed this would be his last term as mayor, saying his focus now is on finishing what he started.
“They’ve seen what I do, and it won’t be much different — just finishing the job that I started,” he said.
Asked why he believed he won by a large margin, Brown said it was because he had been “quite plain about what I’m doing.”
“I haven’t quite finished everything I’ve set out to fix,” he added. “Even today in the paper, somebody said I hadn’t really done the things on the streets with transport that I said I’d do, but I haven’t actually got my hands on AT [Auckland Transport] yet — but it’s coming shortly.”
