[1] Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff won the election with 48% of the vote to secure a second term.

One debate between Goff, Tamihere, Lord, and Henry discussed issues such as infrastructure, public transport, climate change, parking, and inequality, among other topics.

After the debate, Tamihere initially denied using the term, then stated his comments were a criticism of Goff's actions around a decision to bar controversial Canadian speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern from using an Auckland Council venue in 2018, calling Goff "a dictator".

[38][39] Some voting booklets contained two incorrect photographs, including showing mayoral candidate Tricia Cheel as a man.

Initial counts, while voting was still open, showed turnout to be lower compared with the same time in the 2016 election.