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The battle to be Auckland's super city mayor seems to be a two horse race between Auckland City mayor John Banks and Manukau mayor Len Brown, but is there room for a third contender?
The Warehouse founder, Sir Stephen Tindall, has been mooted as a possible new entrant.
Political commentator Matt McCarten says Tindall's candidacy would mean a definite threat to Brown, but would help Banks.
"(That's) because Banks has got his vote, he's got his third ... he needs a third candidate to take votes away from Brown," he told TV ONE's Breakfast.
McCarten says people know very clearly that there is a left candidate and a right candidate. "It's very polarised," he says.
He says Banks is "desperate to get another left-ish candidate ... they have been encouraging all sorts of people to run."
McCarten suggests that if perhaps Banks and Brown had run a tight campaign, they may not be under threat by a possible newcomer, however their mistakes have forced people to re-think their opinion.
"It's a good thing that they are under scrutiny.
"People are saying 'maybe they are not up to it', and that's the danger for both of them."
Tindall poses more than just a threat to Brown, however. The danger with a "new face" contender, says McCarten, is the uncertainty of the unknown, warning that the "fresh face" vote could be "almost like the Hubbard thing again", in reference to Dick Hubbard's mayoralty.
"The new face gets dropped in ... there's not the same media scrutiny which the other two are getting ... they will come in, get a clean sweep and we may well get a CEO who may not make a good politician."
Currently there are six candidates standing for mayor. Without Tindall's entrance, McCarten expects it to remain a two horse race between Banks and Brown.
The others "will get crushed", he says. "It is a two party fight - between the left and the right."
Currently, Brown is still ahead in polls, but McCarten suggests that if he can't cement his lead by a mile, that's where he's going to have problems.
"And then that's where the third candidate is sniffing around."
Do you think there's room for a third contender? Would you vote for Tindall? Share your opinion below on the message board:
New website
For those of you confused about the Super City, the new Auckland Council website has gone live - aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
The website has information about upcoming local body elections and the structure of the new council.
Street-find applications can be used to find which new board or local ward area people live in.
The website also has details on the roles and responsibilities of the mayor, councillors and local boards, as well as an explanation of Council-Controlled Organisations.
The Auckland Council will formally come into being on November 1.
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