Efeso Collins says his skin colour cost him 20,000 votes in Auckland mayoral race
Efeso Collins, a failed candidate for mayor of Auckland, claims that Wayne Brown defeated him by 20,000 votes because of his skin tone.
The former Manukau councillorq was candid in one of his first interviews since losing his bid for the position of city chief in October. He discussed how he believed his race affected the mayoral campaign.
Collins, who is of Samoan and Tokelauan origin, claimed that early research indicated that people would assess him unfavorably based on race.
He would later lose the election on October 8 to Brown by 57,000 votes.
His skin tone would be one of the main problems, “several of our study groups came back and warned us fairly explicitly,” he stated.
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Unscientifically, he added, “a number of people, both inside and outside the team, stated that you come in with at least a 20,000 vote deficit.”
I said, “Yeah, cool, we can get past those obstacles.”
Collins stated that his campaign needed to be mindful of how people were viewing him. He would have alienated some people if he had been perceived as aggressive.
He explained that a tall dark man “represents something that makes certain people very uncomfortable.”
Collins claimed that in contrast to eventual victor Wayne Brown, whose campaign was centered around criticism of Auckland Council and the boards of the council-controlled organizations, he ran a non-confrontational campaign.
He claimed that by holding meetings in cafés and knocking on doors, his campaign strove to be approachable and transparent.
“That makes a difference to me. I can show that I’m not this big aggressive guy by simply speaking to them in a really natural, conversational way.”
Collins did not blame race for his defeat, but acknowledged that it was one issue that made it more challenging for his campaign to succeed.
You wouldn’t anticipate this from me in a contemporary culture that we would consider just and egalitarian, he continued.
Collins claimed that the harassment he experienced while campaigning was on par with the rest of his political career.
He recalled an incident where a woman approached him while she was walking her dog on the campaign trail and said she would vote for him if he weren’t too “aggressive.”
He claimed that at one meeting, someone dubbed him a “black c.”
You wouldn’t anticipate this from me in a contemporary culture that we would consider just and egalitarian, he continued.
Collins claimed that the harassment he experienced while campaigning was on par with the rest of his political career.
He recalled an incident where a woman approached him while she was walking her dog on the campaign trail and said she would vote for him if he weren’t too “aggressive.”
He claimed that at one meeting, someone dubbed him a “black c.”
Collins claimed he was reluctant to discuss race throughout the campaign for fear of appearing to be “playing the racial card” in the eyes of some voters.
“I don’t like to hear people remark that he keeps using the racial card, but it is a fact,”
“The next stage might be someone else with a refugee background, an ethnic background. We will always look at the merit of that person. I hope they won’t get the feedback I did that their skin color or their religious background will be a challenge.”
Collins was hardly the only candidate who spoke out against racism or prejudice while running for office.
Several Asian candidates claimed that a “targeted” attack resulted in the removal of their heads from campaign hoardings.
While other candidates’ hoardings nearby were torn down, Ted Johnston, a mayoral candidate who is also of Samoan origin, had his billboards vandalized.
“I can imagine how Collins felt; it seems like our people have been targeted – there’s surely some over-zealous supporters,” he said at the time.
