Brown affair not relevant to job

PEOPLE have been asking me lately, in my capacity as editor, what I think of Auckland mayor Len Brown's affair with Bevan Chuang.

I suspect they're waiting for some erudite analysis from an experienced journalist, and I probably disappoint. Because if I'm completely honest, my first reaction as a bloke is: Yeah, sure, he's guilty of being an average-looking guy who scored a hot babe. I mean, how dare he?

Len Brown joins the ranks of seemingly unappealing men (physically) who go one step too far with the perks of power and significant leadership. Rob Muldoon, David Lange and Don Brash all come to mind.

Frankly, I don't think Brown's affair, as an undiscovered activity, would matter one jot to how he runs Auckland. For all we know, his affair might have even made him a better leader.

To sustain an affair for two years suggests a man with excellent time management skills, and a man who had comfortably integrated the relationship into his life. And yet, affairs become the thrill and the condemnation of the public, as fed by the media, and it is worth asking why this is so. The excuse is it is in the public interest to explore whether Brown used his mayoral rank inappropriately, and it is right to ask that. But it's more basic than that. Sex sells.

Then there's weakness and hypocrisy. To have an affair is to succumb to a weakness, and the public gets uneasy if powerful elected figures show signs of weakness. As for hypocrisy, Brown didn't specifically campaign on family values, but I think that's an unspoken expectation of the public, that it comes as standard with the leadership package.

I think Brown will be forgiven if this is all there is. Pushing "sleaze" is an agenda that can backfire just as quickly. But it's going to be interesting to watch.