A "born and bred" Southlander, Steve Broad always wanted to make a difference within his community.
After being elected the new Invercargill City councillor — with 2792 of the total 13,335 votes — the radio host hopes to be a voice for residents and help his community even more.
Cr Broad was sworn in to council on Tuesday and said he was grateful, privileged and honoured to be there.
"I just want to thank the public of Invercargill that voted for me and trusted me with the one vote, that feels really special, and like a huge honour.
"And to those whose votes I didn’t receive, I am dedicated to this role. I will work hard for all the voices in the city."
This was the second time he had put his name forward to become a city councillor and he was excited with the challenges ahead.
He believed it was a time for the council to have "less distraction and more progress".
"I think it’s a really important time for our city in terms of progress ... There’s exciting things happening but there’s also a lot of distraction at the moment as well.
"So I think it’s a really important time to muck in, work with a core group of councillors that I really believe are doing a good job and want to deliver well for our city."
Several members of Cr Broad’s family attended the event on Tuesday to witness his swearing in.
His father, Michael Broad, was excited for his son to take on the role — especially as it would keep him in Invercargill a while longer.
"I’m pleased he’s got an opportunity to serve the city ...
"As Abraham Lincoln said, ‘you can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time’ ...
"I think he will listen and try and fight for the things he feels need fighting for, and speak on behalf of the residents."
Mr Broad said as his son grew up in a small community, he knew what living in Invercargill meant.
Before the by-election result, Cr Broad told the Southland Express he would like to focus on housing as well as strengthening the relationship and delivery of services in Bluff.
"Housing must be a key focus for this council. Understanding and deciding on what role the council should play, and where we should be facilitating the private sector to lead this crisis.
"We need to be able to house our community, draw in new people, but also have a long-term plan in place to target our changing and ageing population."
The final by-election results saw David Meades in second place with 1589 votes, followed by Lisa Tou-McNaughton with 1559, Graham Lewis with 1524 and Asha Dutt with 1505.
Those candidates showed a desire to make another attempt in the next election and said they were proud of their campaigns.
Mr Meades was impressed with his results.
"First time going from you know, basically being a nobody to ranking above former councillors and the First Lady of Invercargill — I think I’ve done well and that’s awesome."
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former councillor Nigel Skelt in May.
Council deputy electoral officer Michael Morris said he was thrilled with the 34.10% voter turnout.
"We set ourselves a goal of around 35%, so we’re pleased so many members of our community decided to take part in democracy."
