“In 160 years there have only been two women mayors. There has never been a woman mayor for the Super City.”
Dame Catherine Tizard was mayor of Auckland from 1983 to 1990 and Christine Fletcher from 1998 to 2001.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown with community leader Kharag Singh and Whau councillor Kerrin Leoni.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s office did not wish to comment on Leoni’s mayoral aspirations.
Leoni was elected to the Waitematā Local Board in 2019 and was deputy chair for the first half of the term but in 2020 she was selected as Labour’s candidate for the Waikato electorate, and placed at 66 on the party list. She lost to incumbent National MP Tim van de Molen.
Two years later, she won the Whau ward and was the first female Māori councillor to be elected to the Auckland Council. She plans to do one better this election.
Leoni denied reports she is standing for mayor to get a higher spot on Labour’s list at the next election.
“As a qualified economist and having spent the past five years as an elected member at both local board level and as a councillor, I believe I have the skills and attributes to do the job.
“I am the first Māori woman to stand for mayor. I already have a team of 60 volunteers.
“I have a master’s degree in economics. I have previously run my own business in the United Kingdom and a property investment business in New Zealand buying and selling property. I founded an international youth charitable organisation Mana Aroha sending young people to London.
“I am an Aucklander who wants to see a different style of leadership for the most important city in our country. Leadership which will encourage entrepreneurs and skilled young people to stay in Auckland and eventually raise their families here. Leadership that unites Aucklanders and makes them feel proud and connected to their local communities.”
Auckland councillor Kerrin Leoni co-parents her 8-year-old twins Kahu and Atarangi with ex-partner, music school teacher and musician, Damian Hauwai.
Leoni said if elected, she would pull back from privatisation and halt sales of strategic assets, like the Port of Auckland.
“The policies I oppose are the sales of strategic assets,” Leoni, a mum of 8-year-old twins, said.
“I don’t believe we should have sold the airport shares and I will have no intention in the future to lease out the ports to an international company.
“I am also anti-privatisation. Where we can continue to maintain council contracts for things like swimming pools and other council-run organisations I will continue to do that as long as the financial outcomes needed to keep rates low are met.”
Leoni admits she’s a dark horse “but Wayne Brown wasn’t known in Auckland before he was elected”.
She said she and Brown don’t always agree on some of the mayor’s policies yet is respectful of the position he holds.
“I do get on with Wayne Brown but I believe Auckland needs a different style of leadership. Grassroots and more community-based as well as ensuring our finances are managed well.
“We have had our differences but I’ve always been direct about those differences.
“There are some good policies Wayne has put forward which I have supported, including bringing the CCOs – AT, Eke Panuku and Tātaki – back in to council control.
“If I am elected as mayor I will continue with that work as I believe elected members should have the direct oversight on any council funds spent.”
Besides maintaining the $50 weekly cap on transport, Leoni is also keen to progress Māori youth programmes.
“What about a Māori youth fund which can be allocated across the city for initiatives to help get Māori young people into work and work experiences connecting with local businesses and iwi?”
Meanwhile, another considering a tilt at the mayoralty is Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.
