A tale of two Mayors

Newsroom reports:

When Wayne Brown started his term as Auckland mayor, he was lambasted for his poor communication, lack of engagement with the media and inability to get consensus around the council table.

While in the capital, Tory Whanau’s ascension to the mayoralty was heralded as a huge step forward; she was the first wāhine Māori mayor and talked of a progressive future.

It’s nearly two years into their three-year terms and the narrative has somewhat changed. Brown has secured the lowest rates increase of any metropolitan council across the country, while Whanau’s left-leaning colleagues have accused her of selling out her progressive stance.

The perception of both Mayors has changed over time.

This is from the monthly Curia-TU poll. As can see Brown started off poorly, but over the last year has received to positive territory. Whanau started off well, but had a huge dip in 2023, and remained negatives in early 2024. There will be another updated in September of these numbers.