Hamilton City Councillor James Casson caught the nation's attention in March when he urged Kiwis to refrain from commemorating the victims killed in the Christchurch mosque terror attacks. Now he's running for mayor - and says his comments were "ill-timed".
"I have that police mentality where I've seen so many bad things in my life. I know what those police officers are going through down in Canterbury when they dealt with that."
Casson was a police officer for 25 years, working in New Zealand and Queensland.
In a video interview with Local Focus, Casson was adamant he is not racist.
"I've worked overseas. I've worked for the United Nations with 40 different nations. And what I was told too, is that in Muslim beliefs, there's a three-day mourning period and the longer you mourn for someone, the harder it is for them in the after-life. That's what I meant. I wasn't meaning any ill will at all to any Muslim people."