Leo Molloy says strategy, ethics, and integrity are the reasons he's no longer running to be the next mayor of Auckland.
The businessman announced on Friday he had pulled out of the Auckland mayoral race after a recent poll had him dropping to third place. The Ratepayers' Alliance-Curia poll had businessman Wayne Brown in second place, behind first-placed Efeso Collins.
In a statement on Friday, Molloy said he is ending his bid "for now".
"I'm today announcing the end of my bid to become mayor of Auckland - for now! It's the right thing to do for the city," he said.
Molloy said he was pulling out after the recent poll suggested he couldn't win.
"Some aspects of my polling are still strong, however, there are clear trends emerging that suggest I cannot win - this time.
"On that basis, I'm deciding to withdraw immediately and, in doing so, potentially help other candidates - who won't do as a good a job as I would have - but at least will be better than the dispiriting status quo we've had under Phil Goff and this Labour mayoralty.
"I wish all the remaining hard-working candidates the very best for the gruelling weeks ahead."
On Sunday, appearing on David Letele's Buttabean Radio Show on Today FM, Molloy said his exit from the race was "strategic" and "all about ethics and integrity in the end".
Molloy explained it was strategic because midday on Friday was the deadline to enter or exit the mayoralty race, and candidate Viv Beck only officially entered in the final two hours.
"We were sitting waiting, watching, trying to work out what the strategy was there. Perhaps she was going to wave the white flag, in which case I would've stayed in," he told Today FM.
But a complicating factor was Thursday's poll and the issue of undecided voters, Molloy said. He believed there was "no appetite" for him and those who were undecided would go back to who they "felt loyal" to over the years.
"We had no slack to pick up and I didn't have a window in the media I could use to present my policies because the media just like me for soundbites… They wouldn't give me an opportunity to articulate clearly what my policies were, so I couldn't sell myself," Molloy said.
He said he knew that if he didn't leave the race by midday on Friday, his name would've gone on the ballot paper but his "heart and soul wouldn't have been in it" since he knew he couldn't win.
Molloy also said he has name recognition, which he believes would've earned him thousands of votes.
"It probably would've handed the election to Efeso [Collins], which I don't think is a good option for the city. But more importantly, it wouldn't have given the other centre-right candidates an opportunity. I would've effectively been taking their votes under false pretences," he said.
"I was firmly of the view that if we stayed in the race, I was going to artificially orchestrate the result of a local body election. To me, that's third-world stuff and I simply wouldn't do it."
In his exit announcement on Friday, Molloy said he will be getting on with his "other life as a hospo legend" and claimed "cowboys don't cry".
"I have a new restaurant/bar to design and build, and I'm looking forward to concentrating on that project," he said.
"I thank my team for their hard work, and of course my sponsors. We did our best, but it wasn't quite enough.
"I won't be endorsing another mayoral candidate just yet, but I may do so once I scrutinise their policies in more detail. If I do endorse it'll be a fiscally responsible candidate - not a reckless spender."
Molloy also indicated his intention to stand again in 2025, saying he had "learnt some valuable lessons and if there's an opportunity in years' time I'll be in, boots and all".
"To the many battlers in the street, the hard-working, kind and generous people who backed me, supported me, and even just chatted to me...I thank you, you are the Auckland I love.
"I have no regrets. It was fun, and I thank all who participated."
Molloy was up against Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck, Auckland councillor Efeso Collins, Hibiscus and Bays Community Board chairman Gary Brown, former Far North mayor Wayne Brown, 2019 mayoral candidate and co-leader of the New Conservative Party Ted Johnston, teacher Jake Law, adult entertainer Lisa Lewis, 2019 mayoral candidate Craig Lord, animal rights advocate and research scientist Michael Morris, former restaurateur and mayoral candidate John Palino, and John Lehmann.
