John Palino enters Auckland mayoral contest ... from Florida

Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino. Photo / Hagen Hopkins

Two-time mayoral candidate John Palino is making a third bid for the Auckland mayoralty - this time from his home in the United States.

The restaurant and cafe owner has put in his nomination from his home in Orlando, Florida, but it's unclear when he will return to Auckland to campaign.

After coming second behind Len Brown in 2013, Palino became a central figure in the sex scandal between Brown and Bevan Chuang, a council advisory board member who had a two-year affair with the mayor.

Palino met Brown's former mistress for a late-night discussion in a Mission Bay car park the night after the mayoral election and just two days before the affair was made public.

Bevan Chuang, the former mistress of Auckland mayor Len Brown, at the carpark in Mission Bay where she met mayoral candidate John Palino. Photo / Natalie Slade

Palino admitted meeting Chuang but denied any knowledge of her affair until it appeared in media two days later.

Chuang also claimed to have been romantically involved with a member of Palino's campaign team, Luigi Wewege.

Palino stood again at the 2016 elections, coming fourth behind Phil Goff, Vic Crone and Chlöe Swarbrick. In 2020, he returned to his native America with his partner and young son.

Palino is standing on his previous campaign theme of creating new urban centres on unproductive land to manage population growth and social issues.

"This is a chance to develop Auckland into a world-recognised city for providing jobs, education, entertainment, sports, recreation and housing. A city that we can all live, work, play and learn in," Palino said.

"My vision for Auckland in developing additional CBDs is also a responsible strategy to global warming. Currently in Auckland, the removal of green areas, whether it be parks or backyards, has moved us further away from our agenda," he said.