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.
"We need to remove the 15 per cent GST off things like food, insurance, car repairs, dentistry to have a financial system that favours people looking after themselves rather than going broke and getting into debt."
The region's struggling infrastructure is also high on Wakeman's list of priorities.
"With endless immigration we fill up our roads and we just cannot carry on building roads to meet such high demand."
Wakeman says public transport has to be "faster than taking a car".
Watch the full Local Focus interview to hear Wakeman discuss crime and other by-election issues.
Tauranga residents will vote for their new member of parliament on June 18, after the resignation of National's Simon Bridges.
Advance voting begins on June 4.
The couple spend five months a year in America running their business.