Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown quashes reports he expects Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson to step down

Desley Simpson and Wayne Brown were sworn in as mayor and deputy mayor in 2022.

• Mayor Wayne Brown has quashed reports he expects Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson to step down as his Auckland Council deputy after she signalled interest in his job.
• Simpson confirmed she is considering running for mayor but said it’s ‘a bit soon’ for a decision.
• Brown says he hasn’t spoken to his deputy about the mayoralty, nor has he asked her to step down.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has quashed reports that he expects his deputy Desley Simpson to stand down from her role after she signalled interest in his job.

The pair have not spoken about the mayoralty since Simpson returned from a holiday in Italy on Thursday and the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance revealed the domain “Desleyformayor.co.nz” was registered by her son this year.

Simpson told the Herald on her return the domain was “a bit of a laugh”, but did not rule out standing.

She confirmed she had been thinking about running for mayor but it was “a bit soon” for a decision.

Desley Simpson was finance chair under former Mayor Phil Goff.

Neither Brown nor Simpson responded to requests today from the Herald to discuss their political plans.

Brown told the Herald at the weekend he had not spoken with his deputy since she went on holiday.

The Herald earlier reported the pair were likely to meet over the next few days and it was understood Brown would ask Simpson to stand down from her deputy role if she planned to run for mayor.

However, in a statement to the Herald this afternoon, Brown said that was not true.

“I haven’t asked the Deputy Mayor to stand down. We have not spoken.”

National leader Christopher Luxon was asked if his party would endorse Simpson if she stood. He told the Herald he wouldn’t confirm or deny.

The National Party has never publicly supported mayoral candidates in Auckland but has a de facto local government arm in the city, Communities and Residents.

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