Len Brown, Enough is Enough

If Len Brown had any integrity left, he would resign. He is a disgrace. I am all for forgiveness and restoration, and Len can have both, but that doesn’t mean he should be mayor. He can join the rest of us in the struggles of everyday life, forgiven, but paying the consequences.

First, it is old news now that he engaged in a salacious affair for two years including having sex in his office and other council contexts including the Town Hall. At that time, I thought he should resign. After all, when the story broke, he had just been voted in as mayor for the second time, and the voting public did not have this information when they voted. It rendered the vote meaningless. I personally voted for him, and I would most certainly not have had I known. I felt robbed.

For me it is a matter of trust. Supposedly, and I am probably naive here, leadership is based on trust. I can never trust a man who betrayed his family in this way. The affair indicates two years of lying to his wife and family. If he can lie to them that he supposedly loves as his flesh and blood, I assume he will lie to me and Auckland without thought. Further, his wife in that time had been dealing with cancer. All this should what a vile man Len Brown is.

Secondly, now the report of his behaviour has come out. He made 1,400 personal calls and texts to Bevan Chuang. He failed to declare $39,000 of hotel deals. He only reimbursed $263 dollars. Bevan Chuang also attended council meetings as a translator, when not a translator—shades of the sign language fiasco at the Mandela memorial! He used his mayoral vehicle to take Ms Chuang home—I am sure there was no hanky panky on the way. He also received NRL Grand Final tickets and an ipad, which were undeclared. Come on Len. Not only are you a self-confessed philanderer, all indications are that you are a crook (allegedly, yeah right).

Of course Brown’s response denies misusing council resources nor that his mistress received preferential treatment. That just digs the hole further for Len as far as I am concerned; were their others Len? Who else received this same favourable treatment? Ironically, after declaring his innocence, in his response he admits he should have disclosed the free rooms—you can’t have it both ways Len. He (again) apologises to the people of Auckland. Bla bla bla. This person of Auckland accepts the apology and grants you forgiveness, but also believes that he should resign forthwith. Len Brown is not indispensable—grave yards are full of indispensable people. Go and play golf or something. You can join the Tiger Woods supporters club and tour with him.