Paul Holmes: Campaign gives Len top job

Len Brown. Photo / Sarah Ivey

So, Brown it is, the first Mayor of the Auckland Supercity. Len Brown ran a very good campaign. It was energetic, it was happy. And the inclusion theme worked a treat. Brown had us holding hands forever.

The challenge for Len was to get that postal vote in. At the start, commentators wrote him off in the belief his people in the south and west wouldn't vote. I knew it was the first thing his advisers would concentrate on.

Heaven knows what happened to John Banks in the last three months. I watched his campaign in disbelief. Where was John Banks? I asked myself. Why hasn't Banksie shown up to fight this? Where was his life, his vigour, his feistiness? Did losing the mayoralty years ago traumatise him forever? Did it make him frightened of being himself?

For the last month everything went right for Len. In all the photos, Len was smiling. Banks looked stony-faced. Maybe it was just Len's time.

But, my word, Len's made some promises. The spending he's committed to is breathtaking.

Banks, for his part, may simply have been too responsible. In fact, it occurred to me when I was chairing the Herald mayoral debate that Banks would have us continue as we are. It might have been principled not to promise more than he felt we could afford, but it wasn't anything nice to sell.

I'll wonder forever what happened to John Banks in this campaign.