Sitting chairman Michael Williams, who was last year charged with drink-driving, failed in his attempt to axe his deputy, Adele White, and also lost his bid to establish a $24 million town hall in Botany.
The National MP for the area, Jami-Lee Ross, who ran with Williams under the Citizens and Ratepayers banner in the 2010 local election, backed Ms White, who he said was "targeted unfairly".
Mr Williams, a chartered accountant, and Ms White, a senior police constable, are among 25 candidates vying for nine local board seats in three subdivisions - Botany, Pakuranga and Howick.
Independent candidate Neelam Choudary, a banker with links to the Labour Party, said progress under the previous board had been "slower than it should have been".
Paul Young, who is campaigning under the Conservative Party ticket, said rates had been pushed to "intolerable levels" and was promising to bring them down.
Ms Choudary and Mr Young, who are immigrants, are also campaigning on the need for greater diversity in the board that represents an area where more than half of the residents are born overseas.
However, John Spiller, who is seeking re-election to the Howick Local Board, felt "excellent progress" had been made by the board.
"I have felt a great deal of satisfaction from being able to help achieve improvements in sports fields in terms of improved drainage, lighting and security as well as being involved in the creation of a new artificial turf playing surface at the William Green Domain," Mr Spiller said.
The board stretches from the established suburbs of Pakuranga and Howick to the newer areas of Botany and Flat Bush, and includes the industrial estate in East Tamaki.
In a poll taken at Botany Town Centre last week, fewer than one in four said they would vote - mainly because the ward candidates had been decided, and others unimpressed with the candidates on offer.
"When we voted the last time, what we got was a crew from the Mickey Mouse club," said Botany resident Jo Fraser.
She felt a big issue for Howick was the increasing arrivals of migrants, but few local politicians were prepared to put "time and money" to "help integrate our new neighbours into the community".
Howick's population is projected to increase from 128,100 in 2009 to 196,000 by 2031.
Profile
Ethnicity: European 56.2%, Asian 31.8%, Maori 5.2%, Pacific 3.9%
Median age: 36
Median household income: $72,923
Ward candidates (unopposed)
Dick Quax (Independent), Sharon Stewart (Independent)
Local board candidates
Botany subdivision (3 seats)
Garry Boles (Vision & Voice), Neelam Choudary (Independent), Lucy Schwaner (Vision & Voice), Mike Turinsky (Independent), Bob Wichman (Independent), Michael Williams (Residents and Ratepayers), Paul Young (Conservative), Peter Young (Vision & Voice)
Howick subdivision (3 seats)
Murray Burton (Independent), Andrew Craig (Conservative), Jim Donald (Residents and Ratepayers), David Ellery (Vision & Voice), Jenny Foster (Independent), John Spiller (Independent), Bruce Urquhart (Vision & Voice), Adele White (Vision & Voice)
Pakuranga subdivision (3 seats)
Katrina Bungard (Vision & Voice), David Collings (Vision & Voice), Darron Gedge (Conservative), Rowan Hegley (Independent), Wayne Huang (Residents and Ratepayers), Heather Mackay (Independent), Steve Udy (Independent), Shirley Warren (Residents and Ratepayers), Simon Williamson (Vision and Voice)
