Whanau's win in the seventh iteration over eight opponents, who included incumbent mayor Andy Foster and Rongotai MP Paul Eagle, was described as a landslide victory.

[8] In May 2022, The Dominion Post reporter Tom Hunt identified the top election issues as public safety, commercial vibrancy, housing affordability, transport, rates, water infrastructure, climate change and council culture.

[29] The council indicated in its pre-election report that the biggest issues facing the city are infrastructure and planning for growth, resilience and adaptability, the economy, funding and resourcing and the changing local government sector.

[30][31] A poll of voters by Q+A and Kantar found that water infrastructure was the top issue, followed by climate change adaptation, road maintenance, reducing rates, and public transport investment.

[32] On 18 August, The Dominion Post reported mayoral and council candidate Barbara McKenzie as being an anti-vaxxer, not denying forming part of Voices for Freedom, and avowing support for 6 January U.S. Capitol rioters.

[35] Chung stated a preference for bus rapid transit over light rail, and Dudfield stood for a significant modification of the proposal to focus on road traffic.

Foster cautiously opposed the reforms "as they stand",[38] supporting co-governance but favouring a review into local government and amendments to the Resource Management Act.

Whanau credited her campaign's success[61] to its mobilisation of voters,[62] and commentators described the election result as a vote for change, and consistent with a desire to 'fix what was going wrong' in water, transport, and housing.

[63] Lara Greaves from the University of Auckland stated that Whanau's early declaration of her intention to run for mayor helped to increase her visibility.