North Shore Mayor, Andrew Williams, says raising the amount super-city mayoral candidates can spend on campaigning will create elitism in the race, he told Morning Report this morning

Under proposed legislation, those seeking the job would be allowed to spend up to $580,000 during the official three-month campaign period.

The current cap is $70,000.

Mr Williams, who has yet to declare whether he will contest the job, says it’s a staggering increase and will price some contenders out of the mayoralty contest.

Only the rich or those with the support and funding of political parties will be able to stand, he says.

“What we want is lots of high-quality people stepping up for public office and civic duty”, says Auckland City mayor John Banks, who plans to contest the job.

“I just hope that these large and substantial hurdles … are not going to mean that really good people feel intimidated from putting their name forward.”

Manukau City mayor Len Brown, who’s also declared his intention to stand, says it’s not how much a candidate can spend but how well they connect with the community that will win the election in the end.

To put the spending limit in perspective, he says, a personalised letter to all the households in the city would cost $250,000.