Observers believe a sex scandal in New Zealand local politics will usher in a new era of corruption . Auckland 's newly re - elected mayor Len Brown has been outed for a two - year affair . His former mistress , 25 years his junior , says she now wants to apologize . `` In the past , it was the case that sexuality and what politicians did in their own private lives was deemed to be non-political , and not generally reported upon , '' said Bryce Edwards , political scientist at the University of Otago . She claims to have been manipulated by another lover who worked for Brown 's campaign .
Observers believe a sex scandal in New Zealand local politics will usher in a new era of corruption . Auckland 's newly re - elected mayor Len Brown has been outed for a two - year affair . His former mistress , 25 years his junior , says she now wants to apologize . She claims to have been manipulated by another lover who worked for Brown 's campaign .