Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson has announced she intends to serve as Wayne Brown’s deputy again if they are both re-elected.
In a midday media conference at the Auckland Town Hall on Thursday, Simpson said she would not be challenging Brown for the mayoralty.
“After a lot of deliberation, I’m pleased to advised that I’m standing again for the fine ward of Ōrākei. I really enjoy being the councillor for that board, and that’s why I am going to ask for their support for another term.”
Simpson said she had gotten to know Brown “really well” in the past three years and found they had “complementary skills”.
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“I am here to support the Mayor’s vision.”
She praised Brown’s vision to bring down the council’s budget deficit during his mayoral term.
“You’ve got to look at what’s good for Auckland,” Simpson said.
While Brown often used colourful language and had “no filter”, she said the substance of his discussions were good.
“You gotta shake it and shake it and get rid of the dirt around it until you come to the gem at the end,” she said.
Brown told media that the pair had a good working relationship and had “never actually had an unpleasant conversation”.
He said while he wasn’t as passionate about arts and culture as Simpson, their interests were “complementary,” which added balance to their collaboration.
Brown appointed Simpson as his deputy following the 2022 mayoral election.
Speculation had built in recent months about whether Simpson would run against Brown for the mayoralty.
Her interest in leading Auckland first came to attention when the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance revealed the domain desleyformayor.co.nz had been registered last year.
Simpson is a three-term Auckland councillor representing the Ōrākei ward, which includes Remuera, Meadowbank, Glendowie, and St Heliers, Kohimarama, and Mission Bay.
She was a long-standing member of the Communities & Residents group but resigned her membership in late 2023.
The local elections open for voting on September 9 and close on October 11, when the results will be announced.