Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 17, 2022
Viv Beck has withdrawn from Auckland’s Mayoral race, stating that her decision was influenced by the need to avoid splitting of centre-right votes.
Her exit leaves the Mayoral race with Efeso Collins on the left supported by the Labour Party and Wayne Brown (and possibly Craig Lord) on the right with the tacit approval of the National Party of New Zealand.
The centre-right segment became narrower last month when Leo Molloy left the Mayoral race since his chances of victory became remote.
Ms Beck said that she decided to quit with a heavy heart, “but given the strength of concern about issues that need addressing across our region, it is important to avoid splitting the centre-right vote.”
Impact on democracy
Acknowledging the hard work and unwavering support of her team, she said that she is concerned about gross inaccuracies that have been said about her and her campaign.
“I will be reflecting on the impact this type of behaviour has on democracy. Overall, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with so many people over the last few months and to hear their views on what needs to be done if we are to realise our region’s full potential.
I would like to see our region thrive, with a shared vision for a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable future and I look forward to playing my part in making this a reality,” Ms Beck said.
In another statement, Efeso Collins called on Aucklanders to support him as the only candidate with a positive vision for this city.
“I want to thank Viv Beck for conducting her campaign with such grace and her willingness to engage with all sides and I wish her all the best for her next endeavours. And I encourage her supporters to get behind my campaign as we share the same approach of wanting to listen, be collaborative and find constructive solutions,” he said.
Collins vs Wayne Brown
Mr Collins expressed his disappointment over the decision of Wayne Brown not to attend the New Zealand Herald debate on September 16, 2022.
“Aucklanders deserve better than a candidate trying to run a campaign via a few flashy billboards in just a handful of suburbs while avoiding engaging with voters across our city by missing a key event run by one of Auckland’s main media outlets. This is an insult to Aucklanders and an insult to the democratic process. Wayne needs to front up about his erroneous claims that Auckland’s CCOs can be self-funded, he needs to front up about his wacky numbers on the Ports of Auckland and he needs to front up about what he is selling or whom he is going to fire to pay for the cuts that he is promising,” he said.
“Not only does Auckland have over 30,000 ghost houses, but we also now have ghost mayoral candidates. But it is not good enough and Aucklanders deserve better – which is a contest of ideas,” Mr Collins added.
