T-shirts and koha fund frugal campaign

Chloe Swarbrick is believed to be the youngest of 19 mayoral contenders.

An Auckland mayoral candidate has opened her campaign books to show she has raised $5.30 in koha and is selling T-shirts for $50 each.

Transparency is a big deal for Chloe Swarbrick, who is promising daily updates of campaign fundraising and spending.

So far, the 22-year-old journalist has raised $2243.30, including $950 from T-shirt sales, $510 in donations, $5.30 from koha at public meetings and $778 from her own pocket.

Her campaign spending of $1130.53 includes a $200 enrolment fee, $352.53 producing T-shirts, $200 on graphics, a town hall booking costing $226.94 and $151.06 on Facebook advertisements.

"It's been reported that my campaign to be Auckland's mayor has no money behind it. By and large, that's true. Others have half a million to spend on their campaigns. I do not.

"Personally I believe transparency is a core component of accountability and something I would bring to the table as the mayor of Auckland," Swarbrick said. She is believed to be the youngest of 19 contenders seeking the Auckland mayoralty.

The born and raised Aucklander stumbled into local politics after learning about a steep decline in voter turnout and being among a generation struggling to buy a house.

A spokeswoman for Labour MP and mayoral candidate Phil Goff said: "There is no full total tally yet as there are still ongoing incomings and outgoings, but it will be well below the statutory spending limit."

Centre-right candidate Vic Crone, who has a considerable campaign budget, said there was a good level of transparency around donations and spending that would be made public in post-election returns.

The spending limit for mayoral candidates is about $620,000.