Mayor relies on secret war chest

Len Brown. Photo / Doug Sherring

Auckland's first Super City mayor was elected using largely anonymous donations, despite promising to lead an administration of openness and accountability to the public.

Of Len Brown's total campaign war chest of $581,900 in donations, $499,000 was folded into a single trust to protect the identity of those who gave money to help elect him but wished to remain nameless.

Only 15 donors were named in his returns yesterday to Auckland electoral officer Dale Ofsoske, the largest of $17,708 attributed to an entity called Fuqing, with $15,000 from casino operator SkyCity.

The Maritime Union gave $2000 each to Mr Brown and Auckland Council transport committee chairman Mike Lee, who listed no other donations in his election returns.

Mr Brown's campaign also received $3375 from the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust, whose chief executive, Richard Jeffery, was appointed this week as a director of the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development council-controlled organisation.

The Brown campaign also took $2000 from the Botany Residents and Ratepayers' Association.

Mr Brown, who campaigned for more than a year to lead the Super City, declared $390,761 for the last three months on the hustings - well under the legal limit of $579,560.

The biggest spender was businessman and pro-smacking campaigner Colin Craig, who came a distant third in the mayoral race with 42,598 votes despite spending $569,321.

His campaign was apparently self-funded, as he declared no donations.

Former Auckland City Mayor John Banks, who came second with 171,542 votes (behind Mr Brown's 237,487), declared $948,937 in donations and $554,958 spending in the last three months of his marathon campaign.

Mr Brown's campaign manager, David Lewis, last night defended using the New Auckland Council Trust to protect donors' identities.

He said the campaign raised money from hundreds of people from across the political spectrum who supported the mayor's vision.

Most wanted anonymity "as per the current laws, simply because they are private persons with no interest in being in the media".

The Electoral Act requires candidates to identify any donor contributing $1000 or more to a campaign, if they know the name of that person or organisation. But Mr Lewis said the mayor had "no idea who donated to his campaign".

"The campaign handled all fund-raising and Len Brown had no knowledge of who donated, let alone the amount," he said.

"These rules were strictly adhered to to protect him from any possibility of influence. Every Aucklander has equal access and influence to the mayor. No mayor is as open and accessible as Len Brown."

More than half Mr Banks' fund ($520,086) came anonymously, a further $103,926 was attributed to fundraising with no names attached. Mr Banks was his own largest donor, kicking $87,000 into his campaign.

Spending power

Len Brown
* $581,900 in donations
* $499,000 through an anonymous trust

John Banks
* $948,937 in donations
* $520,086 made anonymously