A total of 12 people have put their name forward to fill the vacant mayoral and Hastings/Havelock North ward councillor seats on the Hastings District Council, a big field giving ratepayers plenty to choose from.
The resignations of former mayor Lawrence Yule and councillor Adrienne Pierce this year prompted the by-election, voting for which will close on November 24.
Six candidates have put their hands up to run for mayor, the most mayoral candidates seen in recent times, and apart from Simon Nixon (who has had three attempts since 2007) none have stood for mayor before.
In her third term as a councillor and currently acting mayor, Sandra Hazlehurst was the first to announce her candidacy in March this year and is the only woman running for the role.
She is touting her experience and understanding of the challenges facing the community as attributes that would make her a good mayor, and has already started making changes at the council to be more inclusive and heal divisions that had been seen in the council in the past.
This will be the fourth year that current acting deputy mayor Simon Nixon has put his hat in the ring for mayor after unsuccessful attempts in 2007, 2010 and 2013, gathering between 5000 and 7000 votes each time.
He said this will be the last time he will run, and he was only prompted to stand because former mayor Lawrence Yule stood down.
The final incumbent councillor to stand is Bayden Barber, who despite only being on council since September last year, has said he believed he had the enthusiasm and leadership skills to do the job well.
Of the new faces, Stuart Perry has lived in Hawke's Bay for the past 13 years and has said he is standing as he believes it is time for change and wants to be given the opportunity to bring "fresh, high-powered and dynamic leadership" to council.
Allister Tosh came to the district's attention when he stood for Tukituki with his one-man Future Youth Party in the general election, where in preliminary results he secured 76 votes.
He said he put his name forward with the desire to be involved in politics in a different way and work his way up to his national ambitions.
Running for both mayor and the vacant Hastings/Havelock North councillor position, 19-year-old Waitawhara Tupaea said he was inspired to stand because he believed politics should be about values and fighting for the land beneath your feet, and also putting people before profit.
Joining him in the councillor candidacy was Jason Whaitiri who ran for the Heretaunga ward in September last year and picked up 2071 votes, just missing out on a spot to current councillor Ann Redstone.
Bruce Bisset stood 12 to 13 years ago when he first arrived in Hawke's Bay.
All the other councillor contenders, Rion Roben, Rizwaana Latiff, Eileen Lawson and Wendy Schollum were new to local body elections.
From November 2, ballot papers would be delivered to voters in the Hastings/Havelock North ward, and these would contain two voting sections - one for the ward and one for mayor.
Those throughout the rest of the district would get a ballot paper with one voting section for the mayor only.
Should a sitting councillor win the position of mayor then a second election, at a later date, would be held in the ward from which that councillor came.