Mike Lee (New Zealand politician)

Councillor
Michael (Mike) Lee
Chairman of the Auckland Regional Council
In office
2004 – 31 October 2010
Succeeded by Position abolished
Councillor, Waitemata and Gulf Ward, Auckland Council
In office
31 October 2010 – 2013
Preceded by Position created
Personal details
Nationality New Zealand
Political party City Vision
Other political
affiliations		 Alliance Party (formerly)
Website Mike Lee's blog

Michael (Mike) Lee is a councillor on the Auckland Council and the former chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, both in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] He chairs the transport committee of Auckland Council, and sits on the board of Auckland Transport.[2]

Political career

Auckland Council
Years Ward Affiliation
2010–13 Waitemata and Gulf Independent
2013–16 Waitemata and Gulf Independent
2016–present Waitemata and Gulf Independent

He was first elected to the Auckland Regional Council in a by-election in 1992 and was elected chairman in 2004.[3]

He has held the position of parks chairman (the Council operated a number of regional parks),[4] and oversaw the acquisition of substantial further parkland by the Council during his time.[3] He wrote his thesis on such matters as land titles on Hauraki Gulf islands.[5]

He counts helping to stop the privatisation of Ports of Auckland as one of his major early influences at the Council.[3]

In his time before coming to chair the Council, he was at times called a 'maverick' for opposing the more conservative elements on the Council.[4]

He contested the Rodney electorate in the 1996 election as an Alliance Party candidate and came second after National's Lockwood Smith.[6]

With the amalgamation of his Council into the Auckland Council, he was elected in the Waitemata and Gulf ward as a councillor.[1]

He has been very critical of the form of the new Council as created by the Fifth National Government (though he supported the creation of the Council itself), and especially of the creation of large business-like council-controlled organisations (CCOs) to manage substantial parts of the Council-owned assets and services at arm's length from actual Council control.[7]

One of his key projects in the 2000s was successfully pushing forward the electrification of Auckland's rail network, succeeded by his work on achieving a city centre rail tunnel to increase the capacity of the rail system, both projects often against strong opposition from national government.[8]

Lee was re-elected in the 2016 Auckland elections, despite a challenge from Bill Ralston.[9]

Private life

Lee was married to Sandra Lee-Vercoe. They separated in 1992.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 Orsman, Bernard (12 March 2010). "First blood to left in boundary changes". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Hewitson, Michele (4 December 2010). "Mike Lee". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cr Michael Lee Auckland Regional Council Chairman". Auckland Regional Council website. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Many strings pull future of historic city sanctuary". The New Zealand Herald. 10 August 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ask Phoebe: Tiny isle belongs to no one". The New Zealand Herald. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place - Rodney" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Mike Lee: The Government is no longer listening". The New Zealand Herald. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Lee hits back at minister over city rail". The New Zealand Herald. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Hewitson, Michele (17 December 2005). "ARC chairman keeps the reindeer galloping". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
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