
Fix Auckland Announces Strong Candidates For Albany Ward: Victoria Short And Gary Brown To Drive Practical Change
Wayne Brown is pleased to announce two formidable candidates for the Albany Ward: Victoria Short and Gary Brown. Albany Ward residents can be confident that Victoria and Gary will be strong, effective voices at the Council table.
'Both individuals bring a wealth of experience and a commitment to sound financial management. With their deep understanding of local community needs, they embodyg the "Fix Auckland" ethos of practical, accountable governance.
'The Albany Ward would be well served by Gary Brown and Victoria Short as their Councillors. Their combined experience and dedication to transparent, results-focused leadership perfectly align with Fix Auckland's mission.
'They the importance of fixing our infrastructure, supporting local businesses, and ensuring every ratepayer dollar delivers real value.' Says Wayne Brown.
Victoria Short said 'Residents can expect a team that stands firmly for accountability, transparency, and results. One committed to elevating the voices of everyday Aucklanders and are focused on ensuring that every dollar is accounted for."
Gary Brown said "As a team we bring a powerful message of transformation, accountability, and community-first governance to Auckland Council. We have a shared vision to reshape how the council operates and we want to ensure that the ratepayer is at the forefront of every financial decision we make.'
Biographies
Victoria Short brings a decade of experience navigating local and central government, ensuring she knows "how to get things done." As a trained accountant, Victoria will bring scrutiny to financial decision-making and Council spending, driving value for every dollar. Her focus is on transparent, accountable decision-making, with a commitment to fixing infrastructure, supporting local businesses, and improving community services. A dedicated volunteer trustee for Life Education North Shore, Victoria is deeply invested in youth and community well-being. She is committed to listening to residents, fixing what's broken, and fiercely advocating for East Coast Bays, Hibiscus Coast, and Upper Harbour, working constructively with fellow Councillors to cut waste and drive progress for Auckland.
Gary Brown, a proven local leader, is currently the Deputy Chair of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board and a local businessman. He has consistently championed community projects and delivered results. With over 30 years of deep roots in the community, including extensive involvement with North Harbour Rugby and the Silverdale Rugby Club, Gary possesses a profound understanding of the Albany Ward's diverse needs. Gary advocates for locals, wise investment in infrastructure to create a thriving, world-class Auckland. His common-sense approach prioritises empowering local boards, embracing innovation, and ensuring transparent, accountable leadership for better services and value for money.
Fix Auckland believes that Victoria Short and Gary Brown will be powerful advocates for the Albany Ward, working tirelessly to ensure the Council focuses on essential services, fiscal responsibility, and tangible improvements for residents.

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Scoop
12 hours ago
- Scoop
Candidates Finalised For Upcoming Local Body Elections
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NZ Herald
13 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Spending slumps 22% on Auckland's K Rd, businesses pin hopes on City Rail Link opening next year
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The disruption started with the $30 million 'Karangahape Rd Enhancement' project, which took several years and included a cycleway and rainbow-coloured overbridge; there has been the furore over removing car parks in late 2023, and Project K to upgrade streets around the City Rail Link. 'We've got I don't know how many bus stops, but hardly any parking,' McIntyre says. 'People want to come here, grab a bite, do some shopping, not pay $20 to $30 to park.' She points to Wilson's parking on nearby Cross St. 'It's awful and expensive. People just go somewhere else.' Still, she insists K Rd remains a 'good little community', even if most businesses are struggling. Not every business is struggling, however. At Paperbag Princess, a recycled clothing store, manager Chloe Bailey says some Saturdays are 'a sensory nightmare' thanks to the crowds. 'On a good day, the store is packed,' she says. Most items are priced between $18 and $20, but even that can be a stretch for some customers. 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Photo / Jason Dorday The biggest discrepancies, he says, were last winter when interest rates started to bite, and there were months when spending was down 16% – 'slowly we are clawing back'. Holloway says one sector where people are spending less money is restaurants, a view shared by the council's economic development office head, Pam Ford, quoting figures showing hospitality spending – covering cafes, bars and restaurants – has taken a notable hit. Between July and December last year, Karangahape had a 20.7% drop in this category, compared to a 6.8% decline across the wider city centre, she said. In August last year, popular Peruvian restaurant Madame George announced its closure, citing the economic downturn making it 'impossible' to continue. Bar Celeste, on Viva's list of Top 60 Restaurants in Auckland, closed in June this year; and last month, Candela announced it was closing at the end of August and being replaced by the second Auckland outpost of Benny's American Burger. 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He likes the improvements along K Rd – wider footpaths, the cycleway, greenery and shrubs - but says parking is a big issue, and he's frustrated by the slow pace of work, including the year-long construction on a 50m stretch of Mercury Lane that's 'not anywhere near finished'. 'I'm not sure what the magic wand is,' admits the store manager, who believes the street needs a serious rethink to become a destination rather than just a thoroughfare. Right now, K Rd risks becoming a place people rush through, rather than linger in. Fowlie is concerned that the area's role as a major bus and transport corridor could shape its identity in an unintended way. 'One of the risks of being a bus corridor and transport route is that you end up with a few convenience stores around the station entrances. 'Public transport centres around the world are not renowned for being particularly nice. They are usually pretty depressed and crappy and full of rubbish and down-and-out people. We have to have a serious think, so we don't end up like that around the CRL stations.' Fowlie says businesses are clinging to the hope that the CRL will bring a wave of revitalisation. But he also warns that the rail link's arrival will trigger fresh development, and with it, more years of construction and disruption. Hemp Store manager Chris Fowlie. Photo / Jason Dorday Holloway says Fowlie is not wrong about post-CRL development, but hopes the new construction will be in chunks that are easier to chew. After years of disruption and delays to the CRL – now pushed back from its original 2024 opening to mid-2026 – K Rd businesses are bracing for yet another challenging year. 'It'll feel like another round in a boxing match,' Holloway says. Adding to the pressure is the persistent sight of empty storefronts. 'There are 23 shops up for lease,' Holloway notes, a figure that mirrors 2022 levels, and a source of sleepless nights in the battle to restore vibrancy. In anticipation of the CRL, new businesses are moving in: Toa Architects, bars A Space and Frog; Mexican restaurant Sagrado Cantina, and art galleries Coastal Signs and Charles Ninow. And yesterday, it was announced that a $100 million, 11-storey timber office building near the Ponsonby Rd end of K Rd would go ahead after an agreement was reached between the developers and the council. Independent planning commissioners had previously rejected the plans. 'The CRL is going to be transformative,' Holloway says. 'It's the point at which Pinocchio becomes a real boy and Auckland becomes a real city.' Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.


NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Wayne Brown aims for re-election, targets councillors in Auckland race
Brown's main competition for the mayoralty is coming from the first-term councillor Kerrin Leoni, but he's also focused on securing strong control of the 21-member council. After Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson signed up for Fix Auckland in May after mulling a challenge for the top job, Victoria Short and Gary Brown came forward to stand for the two council seats in the Albany ward. Brown has little time for the sitting councillors, John Watson and Wayne Walker, whom he dubs the 'Albanians' behind their backs. Likewise, he's tired of the two Manukau councillors, Lotu Fuli and Alf Filipaina. The two Fix Auckland candidates are Luke Mealamu and Vicky Hau. Mealamu, brother of former All Black Keven Mealamu, owns a large security firm and Hau is the Māngere Town Centre manager. Short and Gary Brown are both members of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, and Gary Brown contested the mayoral race in 2022, finishing fifth. Brown said the Fix Auckland candidates for 'Albania' and Manukau were four 'exceptionally good people' who had approached him wanting to be councillors and believed in the direction he was taking Auckland. Fix Auckland candidates Viky Hau and Luke Mealamu, brother of former All Black Keven Mealamu. He said the councillors from 'Albania' and Manukau had not voted for fixing Auckland and consistently voted against anything that reduces money. Walker said Brown had gone out of his way to run him and John Watson down and didn't like opposition around the council table. 'John and I will run a vigorous campaign and always take the prospect of competition seriously, and that's a healthy situation. Because of the effort we put in, we get a lot of support, and that really helps,' he said. The pair have recorded big wins in Albany against all-comers since 2013. At the 2022 election, they were 5000 votes clear of Short, who came third. There was no doubt, Fuli said, that the mayor was targeting herself and Filipaina. 'I think that is because of the charge I led in trying to save the Auckland Airport shares for the people of Manukau, but also for all of Auckland. 'He assumes he will win, be back in the seat of power and wants to ensure he has got the numbers around the table for the next term,' she said. Fuli was looking forward to the contest, saying: 'I'm in the community all the time and I stand on that and, of course, Alf is a local legend. Everybody knows him. Everybody loves him.' Those standing for the mayoralty are John Alcock, Wayne Brown (Fix Auckland), Eric Chuah, Michael Coote (Independent), Ted Johnston (Independent), Kerrin Leoni, Denise Widdison (Independent), Rob McNeil (Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ), Ryan Pausina, Jason Pieterse, Simon Stan (Independent), Peter Wakeman (Independent). The councillors not seeking re-election are: Angela Dalton (Manurewa-Papakura) Chris Darby (North Shore) Kerrin Leoni (Whau - standing for mayor) Sharon Stewart (Howick) One surprise candidate is former National MP and Manukau City councillor Jami-Lee Ross, who is running in the Flat Bush subdivision of the Howick Local Board. Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross is looking to make a political comeback in October's local body elections. Ross spectacularly quit the National Party in 2018 over an allegation of leaking confidential party information (he was later found not guilty in a Serious Fraud Office trial), and was dogged by allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. Ross told the Herald today he has the 'past experience and skillset to be an effective advocate' for Howick residents and after a five-year hiatus, he is ready to take a stab at politics again. The council wards of Ōrākei and Rodney are uncontested, which means Simpson and Greg Sayers are automatically re-elected. Due to a surge in nominations received at noon, eligible nominees that weren't validated yesterday will appear on the final list of candidates to be published on Monday. All the nominations remain subject to the Electoral Officer's final review and approval. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.