Those issues included opposition to amalgamation, the pending closure of the DHB's Jacaranda House and the mothballing of the Napier- Gisborne rail line, he said.
"You may hear about the money that's been invested, but what about the jobs and what about the people? An MP's role is to stand up for the people of Napier."
Conservative candidate Garth McVicar, the founder of the Sensible Sentencing Trust, said a campaign by the trust which saw him face a legal challenge from a convicted paedophile for an alleged human rights breach prompted his decision to stand for Parliament.
"I will put everything I can into making sure our families are safer."
When the candidates were asked how they would turn around Hawke's Bay's economic performance, Mr Walford said given the "dire" state of the local economy, oil and gas exploration was a significant opportunity for the region.
But Mr Nash said there "absolutely is no place for fracking in Hawke's Bay. We are a region that is building a reputation around fine wine and food. There is absolutely no place for this industry in this region."
His views were echoed by Green Party candidate Paul Bailey, who described the prospect of fracking in the region as appalling.
Mary O'Neill, the country's only Alliance candidate in this election, said employment, and ensuring that people could earn liveable wages were the main issues for the party.
Barry Pulford, of the Democrats for Social Credit, said the party's monetary reform policies would bring economic and social benefits to the region.
Asked about amalgamation, Mr Walford said he did not care how many councils the province had, as long as there was a regional coherent economic development strategy in place.
The other five candidates said they opposed amalgamation, with Mr Nash saying it was an election issue because Labour would change the law to enable local jurisdictions, such as Napier, to veto wider regional amalgamation proposals.
Mr McVicar said merging the region's police resources had been a debacle and he was opposed to a proposal under consideration to build a combined emergency services hub in the city.
Another issue where Mr Walford found himself at odds with the other candidates was the cost of airfares to and from the region.
While the other candidates said they were too high, he said while some fares were expensive "generally, if you take the time to book, you can get some good options".
Nash tops straw poll
Labour Party candidate Stuart Nash came out on top in an unscientific straw poll of people attending a Hawke's Bay Today Meet the Napier Candidates' debate in Napier last night.
The meeting, held at Napier Intermediate School and run in conjunction with NewstalkZB, was attended by just over 290 people.
Everyone was given a voting paper to indicate who they thought gave the best performance in the debate.
Out of 215 votes, Mr Nash received a total of 111. Conservative Party candidate Garth McVicar was second with 40, while the National Party's Wayne Walford scored 39.
Green Party candidate Paul Bailey received 11 votes, while the Alliance's Mary O'Neill got six and Democrat for Social Credit Barry Pulford three. Five papers were spoiled.
• A gold-coin donation entry raised about $250 for the Hawke's Bay Breast Cancer Trust.
