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Auckland mayor Phil Goff says he intends to run for reelection campaign without personal attacks on any opponents.
Mr Goff launched his campaign yesterday, and immediately came under fire from former Labour cabinet colleague and mayoral contender John Tamihere for being a puppet of central government.
He says in the past three years he has worked well with prime ministers Bill English and Jacinda Ardern, but neither told him what to do, and he is there to work in the best interests of the people of Auckland.
"I had a couple of ministers in the audience when I launched yesterday, didn't stop me saying 'Hey it's about time government, you push our rates up a further 15 percent because you put gst on and then you keep the gst. What we need from government is a devolution of revenue and what better way to do it is to give us the $230 million we can spend on the people of Auckland,'" Mr Goff says.
He says during his first term the council has supported the rejuvenation of Māori, started tackling homelessness through Housing First initiatives, and he has worked constructively with iwi and the Independent Māori Statutory Board.
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