Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown took questions from the media today while members of his campaign team prepared to help him in office. Photo / Michael Craig
The political operatives behind Wayne Brown's emphatic win for the Auckland mayoralty are staying on for now to bed in the Mayor's mandate for change.
Brown spoke on the campaign trail of having a team of people lined up for the mayoral office on the 27th floor of the council's central city office tower. Turns out, it's the same team who propelled him to one of the top jobs in New Zealand politics.
Brown will retain many of the administrative staff who keep the mayoral office ticking over, organise his diary and handle the scores of messages and complaints directed at the mayor.
But instead of immediately hiring advisers across a range of issues, communications staff and a chief of staff, Brown is sticking with his campaign team to transition into the role, getting to know the elected representatives and set the ball rolling for change.
The Herald understands the new team could be in place until Christmas.
Today, Brown told the media he was in no rush to appoint a deputy mayor and committee chairs, although Orakei councillor Desley Simpson has been talked about as deputy mayor whoever won the mayoralty - Brown or Labour's Efeso Collins.
There is speculation former National Party cabinet minister Maurice Williamson will chair the finance committee. Williamson has said he is only standing for one term and one reason only - to tame the "spending monster" and see a return to fiscal discipline.
As Brown answered questions from the media this morning in the foyer of the council headquarters, his political operatives were overseeing the event and on their phones.
So who are the people who got the 76-year-old businessman to this point and what role will they play in the coming months?
Matthew Hooton
In a Herald column last month, the prominent political commentator wrote that when Brown brought him a cup of coffee in February this year to ask whether he should run, "I was sceptical".
Hooton and Brown share a mutual interest, some would say obsession, on the future of the Ports of Auckland stretching back to 2019. Hooton writes extensively about the need to move the port and supported the Upper North Island Supply Chain Study, chaired by Wayne Brown.
In his column, Hooton said Brown sold him on a bid for the mayoralty on the priority to bring the council-controlled organisations (CCOs) under control and force them to finish off existing projects.
He advised the businessman to invest in market research, which in July showed Brown was in the hunt alongside Leo Molloy and Viv Beck, but with stronger backing for Brown than the other two among undecided voters.
The research also supported Brown's message to "Fix Auckland" by focusing on infrastructure, transport and voter dissatisfaction with the council and Auckland Transport.
"Even when Beck was still in the race and risking draining a few centre-right votes away from the more frugal Brown and making the bigger-spending Collins mayor, a traditional two-horse race is basically where the election ended up," wrote Hooton last month.
The investment in the research by Tauranga-based Key Research proved pivotal to the messaging and success of the Brown campaign.
Hooton is staying on as a strategic adviser to Brown, but will not be taking a job in the mayoral office.
Two years ago the National Party staffer quit working for the Tories after helping Todd Muller become Leader of the Opposition. As well as writing a weekly column for the Herald, Hooton wants to spend more time at Auckland University lecturing in philosophy.
Tim Hurdle
The campaign director and polling analyst is credited as the mastermind behind Brown's win.
It was a big turnaround for Hurdle, whose role as campaign manager alongside then deputy leader Gerry Brownlee as campaign chair for National at the 2020 election resulted in a different outcome. Labour won by a landslide.
The political operator has worked for Brownlee and Steven Joyce and the social media consultants Crosby Textor, which has included Boris Johnston among its clients.
Hurdle told the Herald the election was not fought along political lines, but in the context of 70 per cent of Aucklanders wanting change and 30 per cent happy with the status quo.
"Our research was very clear that there was a very strong proportion of the city who were looking for the kind of messages Wayne was promoting, they were looking for a change and felt the status quo was not what they were looking for and wanted to move on to a better style of stronger management of the council."
Hurdle said when Molloy, followed by Beck, quit the mayoral race, it made it clearer for voters to coalesce around Brown, who was already well-positioned.
"We knew our messages were resonating with the right people and it was a question of making the vote come out at the end."
Hurdle said Brown's message to "Fix Auckland" encapsulated that Auckland needs to be fixed and if you didn't agree with that notion people were not going to vote for him.
Now that Brown is Mayor of Auckland, Hurdle said Brown has to get a clear understanding of the finances, what is going on that is being held back and a real understanding of the state of play with the power of the mayor's office behind him.
Like Hooton, Hurdle will likely stick around to help Brown get his feet under the table before moving on to a fresh challenge.
Jacinda Lean
The wife of Tim Hurdle will be helpful to Brown as he navigates the complexities and bureaucracy of the Super City with its many tentacles and annual budget of $8 billion.
The former strategy and governance director at Tauranga City Council brings invaluable public sector expertise to the table, as well as policy and analytical skills.
Lean is already acting as a conduit between the Brown team and council officers.
Chris Matthews
Brown's campaign manager likes to keep a low profile, although his colourful dress sense and mop of curly blond hair gives him away in the room.
Matthews has been with Brown since day one, nearly always at his side (in the background) at public meetings.
Matthews comes from Northland where he worked in information technology and was active in the Labour Party in the early 2000s.
Ben Thomas
The former Beehive staffer, political editor of the National Business Review and a director of the Wellington-based political PR agency Capital joined the Brown team midway through the campaign.
His impact was immediate with Thomas issuing press releases from Brown denouncing Leo Molloy's expletive-ridden, car-crash interview on Guy Williams' satirical television programme.
The interview was a turning point for Molloy, who pulled out of the race a few weeks later when he dropped to third from second place.
The popular pundit has kept Brown in the news with a regular stream of media releases, and enjoys a laugh with journalists.
Thomas lives in Auckland, but is looking forward to getting on a plane back to Wellington for the heavyweight business of central government politics.
It's understood a NZDF aircraft and multiple helicopters are involved.