Auckland Local Elections 2025: Wayne Brown Re-elected Mayor

The final results of the 2025 Auckland local elections have been officially confirmed, solidifying the re-election of Wayne Brown as mayor. Brown secured a decisive victory with a total of 180,130 votes, significantly ahead of challenger Kerrin Leoni, who received 77,577 votes. The broad participation in this election was marked by a record number of special votes.

A total of over 10,000 special votes were cast, with 5,838 validated. Nearly half of these special votes were deemed invalid, primarily due to incorrect or missing declaration details, or outdated enrolment information. Lou-Ann Ballantyne, the general manager of governance and engagement for Auckland Council, expressed satisfaction with the turnout.

New Councillors and Election Insights

“This unprecedented number of special votes shows people were motivated to participate,” Ballantyne stated. “A huge congratulations to our elected members and welcome to the 2025-2028 electoral term.” Despite the competitive nature of the elections, there were no significant changes among ward councillors. Only five out of the total twenty councillors are new to the council.

Among the notable outcomes, Bo Burns, owner of Times Media, has been elected to represent the Howick ward, which has led to her stepping down from the Howick Local Board, where Luke Collings will take her place.

In a closely contested race, Bianca Ranson has managed to defeat Paul Walden by a margin of just 18 votes for the fifth seat on the Waiheke Local Board. In the Henderson-Massey ward, newcomer Ingrid Papau secured the eighth seat with 6,514 votes, unseating Linda Cooper by a narrow margin of 20 votes.

The Puketāpapa Local Board welcomed Rowan Cant and Brendan Larmer, who secured fifth and sixth places respectively, surpassing Raphaela Rose by 46 votes. In the Albert-Eden Local Board’s Maungawhau subdivision, Michelle Thorp won the fourth seat with 4,376 votes, ahead of former board member Rex Smith by a margin of 190 votes.

Turnout and Future Plans

In total, 350,677 votes were returned, representing a voter turnout of 29.3 percent from enrolled voters. This figure is a decrease from the 35.5 percent turnout observed in the 2022 elections.

Ballantyne indicated that the council will conduct a full evaluation of the electoral process, which will be made publicly available ahead of the next election. “I am especially looking forward to onboarding all 172 members to set them up for success for the next three years,” she added.

Overall, the results confirm a stable governing body for Auckland, with 49 newly elected members joining 123 returning members. The inaugural ceremonies will mark the beginning of the new electoral term, where newly elected officials will be sworn in and begin their duties.