Vic Crone has long claimed she was an independent candidate, but no longer.
She never was anyway. Linked with Michelle Boag, Nikki Kaye and Paul Goldsmith she has now got the backing of Peter Goodfellow and Andrew Hunt.
Richard Harman at Politik wrote in his email yesterday:
National Party President Peter Goodfellow and Northern Region chair, Andrew Hunt, both yesterday endorsed Victoria Crone for the Auckland Mayoralty.
The endorsement came shortly after the party’s Northern Regional conference ended. Ms Crone did not attend but another centre-right candidate, Mark Thomas did. National is officially not involved in the local government campaign in Auckland though a new centre-right organisation called Auckland Future involves some National Party personalities.
Their pamphlets were available at the conference and Prime Minister John Key is to front a $200 a head fundraiser for them later this month.
Party officials have been anxious to try and promote a unified centre-right ticket for the elections later this year but attempts to try and get a voluntary agreement between Auckland Future and other centre-right candidates largely failed. Clearly the move yesterday is to try and force that agreement.
It is hard to understand these endorsements. Peter Goodfellow is the husband of Desley Simpson who is having a donnybrook with Auckland Future and Andrew Hunt is usually smarter than this.
The Tinder Candidate can’t claim she is independent, just like Phil Goff can no longer claim he is independent.
When you are taxied around Auckland in the President’s ex-ministerial BMW then it is pretty hard to claim independence.
– Politik