Independent candidate Peter Wakeman is based in Christchurch but it has not stopped him running in the Tauranga by-election.
He says he has never stood in any South Island by-election.
"I've only stood for by-elections in the North Island," he says.
"It's about achieving something better than we have at the moment and I believe that I have achieved things through all my by-elections that I have stood for."
According to Wakeman, poverty is Tauranga's biggest issue.