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Hibiscus and Bays Local Board member Victoria Short took a gamble on her political career by standing only for the Albany Ward Council seat – and it paid off.
She was elected in the top spot ahead of long-time incumbents John Watson and Wayne Walker. Watson secured the second of the two ward seats, while Walker came in third.
It was Short’s second attempt at the seat, after missing out to Watson and Walker by 5000 votes at the 2022 local elections.
This time, she ran on the Fix Auckland ticket, backed by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, alongside fellow board member Gary Brown, who missed out on a Council seat but was re-elected to the Board on the Coast People ticket.
Fellow board member Sam Mills also stood for the Albany Ward seat on the ACT Local ticket but was unsuccessful in both the ward and local board elections.
Short says it has been a rollercoaster since the results were announced. After two terms on the local board, including time as deputy chair, she says stepping up to the Council table will be a big change.
“I decided to stand for Council out of frustration,” she says. “Our local board advocates for so many things… and I want to push our agenda across the line. There are massive projects across the North Shore and Bays, I felt the support wasn’t there. We should be able to rely on our councillors for advocacy and support.”
Induction for new councillors begins this week, and Short says she plans to hit the ground running.
“First off, I want to have a look at the contract between Fullers and Auckland Transport for the [Gulf Harbour] ferry service and understand the contractual obligations.”
Fiscal responsibility will be another key focus for Short, who has a background in accounting and hopes to contribute to the audit and risk committee.
“It’s where my skill set is best used,” she says.
Short says she is still a little shocked by her win. She campaigned on her 12 years of experience in central and local government and her accounting background but believes her positive campaign and focus on progressive change helped her stand out.
“I have big shoes to fill, but I bring a different perspective and a different way of doing things – which I hope is a good thing.”
Watson says that while he is pleased to be re-elected, it comes with mixed feelings at losing his long-time political partner Wayne Walker.
“He has been one of the longest serving and most magnificent councillors on the Coast… and a wonderful servant for the area.”
He thanked Coast voters for their support during what he described as a difficult campaign.
“We were subjected to a prolonged and personal attack by the standing Mayor and that has never happened before. For me, that is a disturbing trend, when that influence and resource can be used to target people you don’t agree with. It’s something you see in other parts of the world, but not what I would expect in New Zealand.”
However, Watson says he is ready to continue fighting for the interests of the Albany Ward.
“I also want to ensure the timely delivery of the infrastructure and community projects.”
The Local Board will see mostly familiar faces with one new member. Gemma Moffat joins as part of the Coast Community ticket, alongside returning member Jake Law. Nick Rado, the third member of the team, missed out by 406 votes (with special votes still to be counted as Hibiscus Matters went to print) to incumbent Leanne Willis, who was re-elected alongside Gary Brown on the Coast People ticket.
Brown says that while he was disappointed about missing out on a Council seat, he was delighted that Short had succeeded.
“Congratulations to her and John. Victoria will do an amazing job, and it’s great to get fresh blood on the council.”
He says he is pleased to be back on the board with Willis.
“We work well together, and we’ll continue on with the projects and working for the Coast community.”
Law says his team is “absolutely stoked at this amazing result”.
“Our vision for the Hibiscus Coast and promise to be dedicated and active representatives clearly resonated with voters. We are happy about doing so well and are ready to work hard for the next three years to get good results for the Coast community.”
Willis is also looking forward to returning for her third term.
“It’s a chance for us to see closure for the projects that were brought up in the past term, like the Ōrewa Reserve.”
The new board, including the East Coast Subdivision, will be: Jake Law, Gemma Moffat, Gary Brown, Leanne Willis, Alexis Popplebaum, Julia Parfitt, Michael Bishop and Gregg Walden.
