Mike Lee says Great Barrier Island’s record voter turnout shows how much the island still values genuine local democracy.
“This was, as it always is in Waitematā & Gulf, a highly contested, hard-fought campaign,” he told the Barrier Times. “My grateful thanks to all those people on Aotea who voted for me and to all those who actively supported my election campaign.”
Lee was returned to Auckland Council with 7,991 votes – comfortably ahead of Patrick Reynolds (6,135) and Genevieve Sage (3,594). He said it was heartening to be re-elected with “an emphatically increased majority of almost 2,000,” especially in an election where overall turnout slumped across the city.
“Only 29.3 percent of qualified electors chose to vote city-wide,” he said. “One consolation – Waitematā & Gulf had the highest percent of voter participation in the Auckland region at 33.9 percent. At the very top of the list is Aotea Great Barrier with 56.2 percent, then Waiheke (51 percent), then Waitematā – the city part of the ward – at 31.4 percent. This says a lot about small communities where people still care and expect their local government to be truly local.”
He called the result “another example of how special the Waitematā & Gulf ward is, and how honoured I am to represent it.”
Lee also congratulated the new Aotea Great Barrier Local Board members – Izzy Fordham, Chris Ollivier, Neil Sanderson, Nikki Watts and Ryan Daly. “I look forward to seeing you all at the swearing-in ceremony and working with you and for you over the next three years,” he said.
Lee, a long-term Waiheke resident and founding member of the Auckland Council, first bought land at Mulberry Grove in 1973 and was elected to the Auckland Regional Council in 1992 with help from Barrier voters. Over his career he’s fought to stop dumping dredgings in the Gulf, helped secure Motu Kaikōura into public ownership, lobbied to finish sealing the Awana-to-Okiwi road, and supported the purchase of Glenfern Sanctuary and the eradication of pests on Rakitu Island.
He told the Barrier Times his priorities remain protecting the Gulf, containing rates, and keeping public assets in public hands. “I’ve consistently voted against unnecessary rates rises,” he said. “With a majority of councillors I successfully blocked the Mayor’s plans to effectively sell the Port of Auckland to Dubai. Its latest profit is $85 million – we need every dollar to ease the burden on ratepayers.”
“Once again – thank you Barrier. It’s a privilege to serve.”
