Do we like Wayne Brown?
Our score: 5 out of 10. His own words on LGBTQ+ people and climate are on the right side, but a run of careless remarks about ethnic and religious groups keeps him in the middle.
Brown is Auckland born and bred: an engineer and developer who grew up in Remuera next to a dump, played rugby for Te Papapa and fronts a pub band. He did a stint as Far North mayor, where the auditor-general reprimanded him over using council staff on his own rates issues. He took the Auckland mayoralty in 2022 and was returned in October 2025, about 90,000 votes ahead of Kerrin Leoni in preliminary counts.
The style is the story. In 2023, during the floods, texts leaked in which he called the media “drongos”; he apologised for the word and conceded he was never going to be a smooth-talking politician. In September 2025 he called two councillors “morons”, mocked another for coming to him in tears, and told Devonport residents they “deserve to be upset” about high-rises. He also said Mount Eden “looks like Gaza”, which he later said was a joke.
Now the harm check. In August 2025 he told the council's Manukau members they were “always victims”; Lotu Fuli said the comments were “not only wrong, but damaging”, and Brown rejected claims of bias. In April 2026 RNZ said he joked about being escorted by a “Muslim terrorist” when a staff member of Indian descent walked him in; he called it a fumbled attempt at humour, emailed an apology and took full responsibility. In 2022 The Spinoff also reported he had used an offensive term for Chinese migrants.
The other side of that ledger: in 2022 he called himself “very socially liberal with all types of people, with the possible exception of bureaucrats”. Asked about climate in 2025, he listed freight onto trains, electrified public transport, congestion charging, apartments near rail and more cycleways. I found no campaigning against LGBTQ+ or trans people, but also nothing on Pride funding, so that gap is real.
The recent stuff is vintage Brown. In March he told party leaders to “eat a lemon and sound tougher”, and in October he told the government to keep out of Auckland's business and called for a rational 30-year transport plan. Last October he also replied to the Ratepayers' Alliance's rates pledge with an expletive, which his campaign said was aimed at the idea of a rates blow-out.
There is also an allegation hanging around. In April 2025 the Ratepayers' Alliance, relaying Newsroom reporting, alleged he awarded more than $300,000 in mayoral office contracts to a close friend and business partner, and failed to declare two jointly owned companies. The page carries no response from Brown, and I found no outcome, so treat it as unresolved.