Thames Coromandel District mayoralty hopeful John Freer says he's yet to recover mentally from being set upon and hit by a youth in the mall he manages in Thames.
"It's just a weird experience. I'm not recovered mentally but Debbie my wife is a nurse and I have some really good mates. My mountain bike is also great support."
However, he said he doesn't want the publicity of his attack – which occurred inside the Goldfields Mall when he told a group of youths to leave – to put people off Thames.
"This is the first incident of this kind in two years. I'm looking at it as a one-off scenario.
"We, as mall managers, have been discussing at length and we're mindful of the potential threat to other people so we have a strong health and safety plan in place. We have businesses to be mindful of and we don't want visitors being uncomfortable."