Banks tries his hand at helping the workers

John Banks gives contractors his thoughts on fixing up Dominion Rd. Photo / Sarah Ivey

You know every vote counts when the mayor of the biggest city in the country runs out into busy Dominion Rd, pops his head into the cab of a stationary truck and urges the startled driver to exercise his democratic right.

The actions of John Banks stop traffic moving on the normally hectic arterial road before it's back to a slow crawl, and His Worship leaves for an appointment with the dentist for toothache.

Desperate times - voter returns suggest he is trailing Len Brown - call for desperate measures, and Mr Banks has never been one to walk away from any opportunity to secure votes in this, his 13th run at the ballot box.

His only losses have come in 1978 to Labour's Arthur Faulkner in the Roskill parliamentary seat and Dick Hubbard for the Auckland City mayoralty in 2004.

On a whirlwind visit to Dominion Rd - a sore tooth prevents him pressing the flesh on the North Shore, where he really needs to get his vote up - he visits a rental vehicle business owned by a longtime supporter, deals with a tricky question about parking in Dominion Rd from the owner of a small beauty salon, stops in at a cobbler and tries his hand at laying asphalt.

"Give me a crack," says the mayor as he takes control of an asphalt sweeper.

"You can't do that without a high-visibility jacket," says a worker.

"You won't get fired. Just tell them Banksie said you could do it."

Back at Col's Cobbler, Mr Banks removes his shoes to show Colin Wigg how much shoe leather he has worn out on the campaign trail.

Mr Wigg says there is plenty of wear left before voting closes on Saturday. And as far as the cobbler is concerned there are just two men in the race, "and I'm not very keen on the other guy".