First time campaigner Martin Williams missed out on securing a Napier seat on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council today but is not ruling out another attempt.

"I am obviously disappointed but I am equally proud of the campaign I ran and I have learnt a lot from it."

Mr Williams decided to go for the council for the first time this year and wanted to promote a common sense approach to coastal erosion, a targeted insurance scheme for affected land owners, the Napier to Gisborne rail link and he openly supported the dam.

He said he will keep an open mind on going for the council again, as he has the skills acquired to be around the table.

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"I have something to contribute so I will reflect, learn and think about how I would do a campaign in the future when there hopefully is not one large issue everyone is focusing on."

He said he was glad to have ran for the seat and has no regrets even though he did not get across the line.

"I did come from no where so to get even close to the other candidates is something I am very proud of."

Mr Williams received 6,821 votes sitting behind newly elected Paul Bailey who received 7,776.

He looked forward to seeing what the new council would bring to the table and said he was sure they would have the "interest of the region at heart".