KEY POINTS:
John Banks and his right-wing allies swept to victory in Auckland City. But the left fought off a determined bid from the right in Manukau to maintain a healthy majority in the region's second-largest city.
Len Brown beat Dick Quax and managed to stop his vote splitting off to left challenger Willie Jackson.
The only surprise was the narrow defeat of George Wood by his council critic, Andrew Williams, on North Shore. But the political make-up of the council hasn't changed and won't have any impact regionally.
The only surviving mayor in the region, Bob Harvey, got a fright but he's a wily old campaigner and managed to hold off his main challenger, John Tamihere.
But the city with the big change is, of course, Auckland City. Only four of the centre-left bloc of 12 councillors from the last council survived. Right-wing councillors and their allies with the new mayor will have a 14-6 majority over the left.
Experienced machine politician David Hay has returned to council and will be the next deputy mayor to keep his majority in line.
Most Aucklanders doubted Banks' claims on the campaign trail that he had changed his ways and wanted to be more inclusive. But in his victory speech yesterday he did seem to want to be more touchy-feely.
Banks, however, knows that his future and legacy don't rest with Auckland city. This is the last election where we will vote for these mayoral positions and councils. Next time we'll be voting for the leaders of a supercity that will encompass a third of the nation's population and billions of dollars in assets and resources.
Everybody knows the current governing structure in Auckland is past its use-by date. If the new city councils don't restructure Auckland into a more integrated structure then the Government will do it for them.
As the leader of the biggest and wealthiest city, Banks now becomes the pre-eminent politician in the region to lead negotiations between the other regional warlords. With his allies in control of his council, and if a National Government is elected next year, he may pull it off.
But Banks will need to work with the experienced and powerful regional chair Mike Lee if he hopes to succeed.
The weekend's result has changed the power relationship in the Auckland region. Sir Barry Curtis, Hubbard and Wood are gone; Harvey is weakened by his less than convincing victory; Brown and Williams are newbies and will stay in their cities.
The politicians who will now determine our future are Banks, Lee, Hay and a handful of others.
