Far North mayoral candidate Peter Gill says he took on the current mayor, John Carter, despite being a "total unknown" with no chance of winning because he was concerned about the council's "sad and shabby brand".
Mr Gill, a motoring writer who moved to Waipapa from Auckland in 2013, gained almost 4500 votes, despite his low profile and a barely visible campaign.
Mr Carter, who won just under 11,000 votes, was pleased with his increased majority but said the support for Mr Gill was a sign he still had plenty of work to do as mayor.
Mr Gill said he had no chance of winning because he was new to Northland, while Mr Carter had lived here most of his life and had been in politics for three decades.
However, he had put his name forward because of what he saw as the Far North District Council's "tarnished image" and "sad and shabby brand", a problem he said he would have addressed immediately.