Mike Lee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lee in 2011 | |
| Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor | |
| Assumed office 28 October 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Pippa Coom |
| In office 31 October 2010 – 12 October 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Pippa Coom |
| Chairman of theAuckland Regional Council | |
| In office 2004 – 31 October 2010 | |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Alliance Party,City Vision (formerly) |
| Website | Mike Lee's blog |
Michael Lee is aNew Zealand local government politician. He has been the Councillor forWaitematā and Gulf onAuckland Council since October 2022, an office he previously held from 2010 to 2019. He was a member of theAuckland Regional Council from 1992 to 2010 and was its final chair from 2004 to 2010.
Lee was first elected to theAuckland Regional Council as anAlliance candidate in a by-election in 1992.[1] He was re-elected as a councillor at every election thereafter until the regional council's dissolution in 2010.
He held the position of parks chairman (the council managed a number of regional parks),[2] and oversaw the acquisition of substantial further parkland by the council during his time.[3] He succeeded in opposing the privatisation ofPorts of Auckland.[3] He wrote hisMSc thesis on such matters as land titles onHauraki Gulf islands.[4] In 2004 he was elected as chair of the regional council and held that position until 2010.[3] Before becoming chair of the council, Lee was at times called a 'maverick' for opposing its more conservative members.[2]
One of his key projects in the 2000s was successfully pushing forward theelectrification of Auckland's rail network, succeeded by his support for the construction of theCity Rail Link tunnel to increase the capacity of the rail system, both projects often against strong opposition from national government.[5] Lee was also instrumental in a campaign that resulted in the reopening of theOnehunga Branch rail line to passenger traffic, allowing services to begin on theOnehunga Line in 2010.[6]
While on the regional council, Lee contested election to Parliament inRodney in the1996 election as anAlliance Party candidate and came second afterNational'sLockwood Smith.[7]
| Years | Ward | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2013 | Waitematā and Gulf | Independent | |
| 2013–2016 | Waitematā and Gulf | Independent | |
| 2016–2019 | Waitematā and Gulf | None | |
| 2022–present | Waitematā and Gulf | Auckland Independents | |
With the amalgamation of the Regional Council into theAuckland Council in 2010, Lee was elected in theWaitematā and Gulf ward.[8] He served three terms as an independent, left-leaning councillor. He was chair of the transport committee from 2010 to 2016 and was additionally appointed as a director of the council's independent transport authority,Auckland Transport.[9]
He was critical of the form of the new council as created by theFifth National Government (though he supported the creation of the council itself), and especially of the creation of large business-likecouncil-controlled organisations (CCOs) to manage substantial parts of the council-owned assets and services at arm's length from actual council control.[10]
Lee was re-elected in the2016 Auckland elections, despite a challenge fromBill Ralston.[11] He intended to retire after two terms but changed his mind in June 2019, announcing he would contest the2019 Auckland elections.[12] By this time, theCity Vision ticket, which had endorsed Lee in 2016 by not fielding a candidate, had selectedPippa Coom as its candidate in March 2019 on the understanding that Lee would not stand again.[12][13] Lee finished second to Coom in the October 2019 election.[14]
Lee contested the2022 Auckland Council elections in the Waitematā and Gulf ward against Coom. The centre-right political groupCommunities and Residents endorsed him by declining to stand a candidate.[15][16] In what was considered one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 Auckland elections, Lee defeated Coom by a margin of 1161 votes and became the councillor for Waitematā and Gulf once again.[17]
Lee was married toSandra Lee-Vercoe. They separated in 1992.[18]
Lee completed an MSc thesis entitledNew Zealand the 10,000 island archipelago at theUniversity of Auckland in 1996 – it has not been published.[19] He spent 12 years researching and writingNavigators & Naturalists: French Exploration of New Zealand and the South Seas (1769–1824), which was published in 2018.[20]
Lee has lived on Waiheke Island since 1979.[21][22][23]
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of the Auckland Regional Council 2004–2010 | Office abolished |