Even the starlings are keen to vote. Photo / Judith Lacy
These are summaries of on-camera interviews of Palmerston North City Council candidates conducted by Local Focus.
Meenal Dutt's favourite music genre is rap and hip-hop and the favourite evening meal she cooks for herself is lamb curry.
She prefers Palmy over Palmerston North.
Asked which party she would be with if she was running for Parliament, Dutt replied "no comment, I haven't even thought about it".
Potholes is the biggest issue facing Palmerston North.
The elderly, immigrants and former refugees are at-risk groups in the region. We need to do more for former refugees who don't speak English or are struggling to come out of their shells.
"As a community, we need to make them feel like they are part of this community and not just put in a corner because they are here."
Dutt is from Fiji and New Zealand has been home for 17 years. She has worked in different industries and is a people person who loves talking.
Youth are our future but if we are not helping them and working with them then there is no point, she says.
Les Fugle is a steak and egg man and his favourite restaurant in Palmerston North is Little Savanna.
Asked which party he would be with if running for Parliament, he said "neither".
The land developer says the biggest issue facing Palmerston North is debt. "Our debt is skyrocketing and in behind the scenes you have to look at why that debt is skyrocketing to drill down and see why."
Reasons for increased debt include inefficiency, time wasting and uncertainty, Fugle says. "We seem to have a closed book sort of scenario where the public doesn't really know what's going on behind the scenes. We used to have face contact, we don't have that any more."
People with mental health issues are an at-risk group in the region as are "street vendors". "I like to support them as much as we can, in fact, I already do, we have some of them living in our buildings, we don't charge rent or whatever. We don't necessarily like it but we are prepared just to help them."
He has lived in the district most of his life and has six kids. Fugle says he has had businesses throughout his life and is skilled in dealing with staff and finance.
Bruno Petrenas enjoys nature study-type books, orchestral music and spaghetti on toast.
He prefers Palmerston North as the city's name.
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is managing growth. "We are on the cusp of growth, very similar to what Tauranga experienced, and we have to make sure that the infrastructure meets that growth."
Petrenas says there has been a reduction in cycle use because of danger at intersections where you go into no man's land, particularly at roundabouts.
He was born in Palmerston North, got an engineering degree from the University of Canterbury, and started working with the city council in 1975.
He has also worked in Tauranga and Auckland.
"I want to give back to the city what the city gave to my parents when they came to New Zealand in 1949 as refugees after the Second World War."
During his time as president of the New Zealand Automobile Association he developed governance skills.
Zakk Rokkanno's favourite book is Space 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and he likes heavy metal, rap and soundtracks.
He prefers Palmy and drives himself as he likes to be in control of where he wants to go.
His favourite evening meal he cooks himself is pressure-cooked lamb roast, minted.
Asked which party he would be with if he was running for Parliament, Rokkanno said he prefers to be independent rather than follow party policies.
"I've been reasonably happy with the current Government until the recent whistleblowing thing about bullying. That has concerned me a wee bit."
A big issue facing people in general is "this whole obsessive cancel culture thing. People are being shot down the moment they try to get ahead. If people can uncover a dark secret from someone's past they're going to bring it out and people are going to get shot down for something wrong they did as a teenager. When you are young that's when you make all your mistakes. The idea is you learn from them and move forward and become a better person."
He says he is an observer with an analytical mind.
Police said those involved were known to each other.