Auckland mayoral hopeful Viv Beck should throw in the towel to give rival and former Far North mayor Wayne Brown a better go, says former Auckland mayor and National MP John Banks.
File photo: Former Auckland City mayor John Banks says Viv Beck should withdraw from the mayoralty race. Photo: Supplied / HOTC
It follows the snap departure of Leo Molloy on Friday after a poll by Curia for the Auckland Ratepayers Alliance put Labour-endorsed Efeso Collins in the lead, followed by business leader Beck and Brown.
Twenty-two mayoral candidates have been confirmed but only three of them appear to be in the running for the $300,000-a-year job.
John Banks is supporting Wayne Brown in the race for Auckland mayoralty. (file image) Photo: RNZ
Banks told the New Zealand Herald Beck should step down.
He told RNZ he did not want to do an interview today but in a statement, he made clear his support for Brown and texted to say Auckland did not need another Labour-backed mayor.
Beck was not fazed and said voters would ultimately choose.
"Well, I don't think much of it really, I'm hearing quite a lot of people telling me that they're tired of the stale old boys club."
Beck's poll ratings have plummeted from 20 percent in June to 12.5 percent in last Friday's Curia poll.
"We've got a big job to do here, and yes, it's a tough one but I've put my name forward for that role and I'm up for the challenge to be the ultimate champion for Auckland," she said.
Brown said Beck had no chance at the mayoral race.
"She can't win from there and she hasn't got a good track record with the CBD either," he said.
"It's a two-horse race. It's up to me to stop Efeso's ill-advised spending."
Collins was not the man for the job either, because "he wants to have everything free but nothing is free, somebody else has to pay for it", Brown said.
"You know, they're talking about reaching their debt ceiling and when you're talking about debt ceiling then you're in deep trouble.
"It's like counting your life jackets before your boat sinks."
Like Beck, Collins was not phased by the comments.
The Auckland campaign had been distracted by what he described as a whole lot of noise, Collins said.
"I just want to be clear that I'm in the race and for me, this is about what I present to Aucklanders and now other people have joined the race, have withdrawn from the race and that's their business - they make those decisions if they think believe it's best for them and their campaign team," he said.
"I'm excited I am in the race. I think what it says clearly is that it's a tight race and it remains a tight race even with a candidate pulling out. And it's important that I remain focused on leading as many potential voters as possible and confirming that they agree with the vision I have for the city."
The election will be held on 8 October.