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Former One News weather presenter and Breakfast host Kay Gregory is known for beating Hamilton's drum, but now she will line up as a council candidate for the Hamilton West ward - pitting herself against a former pizza shop owner.
Her main reason for running for public office
was because so many people had suggested it to her, but it was also because she "loved the place" and was spending more time there.
If elected, Mrs Gregory said she would attempt to juggle her celebrant work with council meetings. "I'm doing lots of funerals right now, and also weddings."
Labour Party list MP Dianne Yates will also try her hand at local body politics, lining up against a man who regularly wields a chainsaw in front of 30,000 people.
Ms Yates has, until recently, staunchly denied she was one of the targeted Labour MPs to be cleared out before the next general election. But in an about-turn several weeks ago, she announced her intention to win a seat on the city council, saying her political career in Wellington was over.
It appears a place on the former fractious council is now highly sought-after, with 24 people chasing 12 seats. Among the hopefuls is Warren "Possum" Allen, either beloved or hated by rugby fans. He is better known for loudly revving a chainsaw from a cherry-picker perched outside Waikato Stadium during Waikato and Chiefs matches.
Before this term, the council was often criticised by ratepayers for bitter and tedious in-fighting, which previous mayor David Braithwaite described as "being akin to being in a kindergarten playground".
One former member, Jody Garrett, was sometimes seen doing his private law studies during council meetings (he also got in trouble for raiding the council's liquor fridge).
First-term councillor, former pizza shop owner Joe Di Maio, will seek his second consecutive term on council.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton city mayoralty will also be hotly contested. Three incumbent councillors and four outsiders are seeking the top job.
Former mayor Michael Redman, credited for helping to secure the V8 Supercars for the city, vacated the position in May to become city council chief executive.
Former National Party MP Bob Simcock, who took over the chains when Mr Redman departed, will attempt to get elected to the post in October. His main competition will come from former media and public relations stalwart Gordon Chesterman, an outspoken critic of the city's "ugly buildings".
Others include Dr Suresh Vatsyayann, who in 2002 went on a hunger strike over a payment spat with the Waikato District Health Board. Two years later he offered his GP services for free because he believed the Government should pay all medical costs.
He tried his luck in the 2005 general election as an independent candidate for Hamilton West but received just 144 votes. However, throwing your hat in the ring in some local elections can guarantee a mayoralty badge - just ask Peter Harris. Waikato District mayor for the past two terms, he has nobody to challenge him for the $75,000-a-year post this time.
Naturally, he wasn't complaining about the one-horse race yesterday. "I had two opposing me last time, and seven opposing the time before that. I think the people of the district like a steady ship."
Mr Harris is in the same boat as three of his counterparts across the greater Waikato region, which encompasses 11 separate territorial authorities. The district councils of Waipa (covering Te Awamutu and Cambridge), Waitomo (Te Kuiti), and Otorohanga already have their mayors, due to the lack of challengers.
The same could be said of Environment Waikato's North-Waikato constituency, where the region's Federated Farmers' president, Peter Buckley, has automatically gained a seat on regional council.
