Brown budgets million for race

Manukau Mayor Len Brown has predicted he will spend about $1 million in a Barack Obama-style race to be mayor of the Auckland Supercity - but he does not think his campaign will be the most expensive.

Brown has already spent between $150,000 and $200,000, according to his rival, Auckland Mayor John Banks - but Brown has dismissed this as at least $100,000 too high.

Brown also denied that his funding had come principally from former Auckland City mayor Dick Hubbard - however the cereal king has paid a small sum.

Brown predicted yesterday that his campaign would reach the million mark.

"The business of campaigning is expensive business. I suspect that the campaign will be in that region."

But he added: "I could spend $10m and not guarantee myself on becoming the mayor of this city."

Brown was focusing on gathering about 5000 volunteers to help get his message to voters.

"I don't think I will be able to out-spend my opponents or come close to it - but I am going to out-organise them. It will be the feet on the street that wins this campaign."

Meanwhile, Banks has claimed his campaign expenditure is "somewhere south of $10" compared with the $150,000-$200,000 he believed Brown's camp had spent.

"We have intelligence on how much money everyone is spending," Banks said.

"There's 12 months to run with this campaign and our strategy is not to go out and blow money willy nilly."

While there will be a cap of $70,000 on all campaigns, that only covers the last three months before the election.

Hubbard confirmed he had put some money towards Brown's campaign, prompting Banks to say he was looking forward to his donation from the breakfast cereal baron.

"I am looking forward to him contributing to my campaign as a man of fairness, equality and goodwill."

But Hubbard said: "I'm not playing rich uncle or anything like that, I am certainly not underwriting the campaign."

Hubbard said he had endorsed Brown's mayoral campaign and made a small donation to the launch party.

Hubbard wouldn't name the sum but said it was "a lot lot less" than $10,000.

"It was very small in the scheme of things. I am not a principal backer or funder or cornerstone."

But having piles of money backing your campaign may not necessarily make your campaign a success.

Dr Jennifer Lees-Marshment, an expert in political marketing at Auckland University, said money could make a difference but it was only one of the resources needed for a successful campaign.

"You also need good people and good advice. You need to know what you're offering."

Lees-Marshment said one of the factors in Obama's presidential win was the use of well-informed volunteers reaching the grass roots.