By Chris Whitworth
John Key aptly described the super city mayoral contest as a “drag race” between John Banks and Len Brown.
One driver is a slick political veteran with established business credentials, the other a self-styled ‘man of the people’ known for his eccentricities and emotional outbursts.
Mr Brown is unpredictable to say the least.
“If they want a robot, they’ve got the wrong guy,” he says.
“I could be your neighbour, I could be your brother, your dad, your cousin, your workmate. The Mayor is someone who, at the very best and worst of times, you’re going to look to and think ‘that person encapsulates the spirit and the hope of our place’."
Watch the full interview with Len Brown by clicking here - to watch a shorter interview click on the video tab above.
A sense of community has always been at the forefront of Mr Brown’s campaign. He sells himself as the man to “unite” Auckland and bring cohesion to the various local boards and councils, plagued in recent years by indecision and bureaucracy.
If elected, Mr Brown says he will instigate “100 uniting projects” to reengage a city that has lost its way.
“We’ve lost our mojo. We’ve lost our ability to unite and really deliver out with a common purpose.”
Mr Brown doesn't mince words when placing blame for Auckland’s division, aiming directly at his opponent John Banks.
“Auckland’s council over the years has been the most divided council in Auckland, bar none. And that is directly of his [John Banks'] style of leadership and his supporters at C and R [Citizens and Ratepayers].”
The Manukau Mayor uses the rhetoric of a revolutionary leader. He describes himself regularly as “the uniter” and “the instigator”. Words of a man who despite his landslide local election knows his super city success ultimately hangs on getting the South to vote.
But, he may need more than the ability to turn a verb into a noun to inspire a region of unmotivated voters as well as convince central Auckland that he can roll with the big boys.
“So I’m reaching to that community, the other 50 percent, saying ‘come on, don’t turn your back on it. Own it. Don’t leave it alone. This is us. This is your futures’.
“Because the decisions that we make, the first Mayor makes in particular, will set the template for Auckland for the decades and maybe 50, 100 years ahead.”
So what vision does Mr Brown hold for Auckland city?
Public transport, public spaces and retaining public assets are the three key policies of Mr Brown’s campaign.
His answer to Auckland’s traffic congestion is an improved rail network. He plans to build rail lines to the airport, complete a CBD loop and construct a direct line to the North Shore. He envisions up to 36 trains running through every hour.
The second policy he plans to enact is an increase in the amount of public spaces, particularly in the central city. He plans to build and facilitate more parks, pools and libraries and says the waterfront needs to be more open and inviting to the general public.
The third and most vocal policy of Mr Brown’s is his unequivocal stance on the sale of public assets. Where his opponent has said he will not sell-off “key” public assets, Mr Brown has promised to avoid privatization. Bar none.
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The super city has enjoyed extensive media coverage since its conception. The political journey of the city covered just as closely as its main players. Mr Brown says his super city campaign has been a completely different experience to becoming Mayor of Manukau, due in part to the sheer saturation of media and quantity of public debates.
Mr Brown's style of campaigning has undoubtedly brought a measure of intrigue and spectacle to the super city race. His public collapse on stage of the Pacific Music Awards in 2008, his affinity for freestyle rap, dance, and lest we forget, his impassioned - if not slightly deranged - speech apologising for spending his Government credit card on a pricey night out.
Mr Brown says he is being "tested" by the media.
“Particularly when it came out that, according to the punters, I was strolling in. I mean, we can’t have that. Goodness gracious, what a cheek. Who is this fellow?
“I’ve responded like any person would have responded to that. Sometimes, hopefully, very well and other times not.”
Mr Brown, it seems, is all too human. His opponent has targeted this quality on several occasions, saying Auckland needs a strong, stable leader that can make the tough, unpopular decisions to push the city forward. So are Mr Brown’s occasional outbursts refreshing or signs of a local leader out of his depth?
“Do they want someone who’s scripted [or] does the community want someone who feels strongly and powerfully about our community and our future. That’s what I do. I’m not afraid to show my emotions.”
You can’t say Mr Brown doesn’t have a lot on his Mayoral plate. His own dramatic health failings were well-reported and analysed, only to later be replaced by his wife Shan’s battle with cancer.
“Our family is a bit of an open book in the end. My own health problems were about as public as you could get – the greatest political falling-over in the history of political mankind.”
The now fit and healthy Manukau Mayor says Shan is due for more treatment, but is staying strong.
“Everything is going well so far. Operations have been good. She’s got more work, treatment, to be done. But by and large, [the media] has been respectful of us and her.
“So she’s standing behind me, just giving me hell. ‘Get out there and win this damn thing’.”
Several mayoral candidates have said the super city needs a super mayor but in a way Len Brown is the anti-hero. He bleeds, he occasionally lashes out, and his story is anything but scripted.
Aucklanders must now decide what kind of leader or hero the city needs.
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