Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has appointed Ōrākei councillor Desley Simpson as his deputy.
"Desley is both my choice for deputy mayor and is overwhelmingly supported by members of the new governing body who I have been working with and consulting with over the last three weeks," said Brown.
"She is universally admired for her integrity, professionalism and loyalty, and her ability to get things done through the council bureaucracy and committee processes."
Brown said Simpson is highly regarded as a regional leader with a broad Auckland-wide perspective, while also having the greatest support from her own community of any councillor, with nearly 25,000 personal votes.
Simpson said she was excited by the opportunity to work with Brown to help deliver on his mandate for change from 181,810 Auckland voters and to work with their colleagues to help them deliver on their priorities too.
"I back the mayor's strong stance on issues, including delivering more efficiencies and savings to keep rates as low as possible as Aucklanders face the looming economic and fiscal storm," she said.
As chair of the finance committee under former Mayor Phil Goff, the three-term councillor won high praise for steering councillors through the Covid-impacted Emergency Budget containing a $900 million hole. She has also overseen tens of millions of savings as chair of the Value for Money committee.
The senior councillor and socialite is also the ideal person to undertake a lot of of the cermonial and civic functions that Brown is less keen on than his predecessors Phil Goff and Len Brown.
Before being elected to the council in 2016, Simpson chaired the Hobson Community Board.
Although Simspon is a member of the National Party, and married to former National Party president Peter Goodfellow, she has parked her politics and works well with councillors of all political stripes.
Last term, as the councillor for the wealthiest ward in the city she sat alongside Efeso Collins, the councillor for the poorest ward in the city - Manukau - where the pair formed a strong bond and better understanding of the other's communities.
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