North Shore City mayor Andrew Williams is to stand for the Auckland super-city mayoralty.
Mr Williams has been a vocal critic of Local Government Minister Rodney Hide's plans for the super-city and says he doubts the minister would have envisaged that he would put his name into the ring.
He describes his style of politics as colourful, with some comparing him to Invercargill's Tim Shadbolt and London's Boris Johnson.
The mayor has had to defend himself against allegations of behaving inappropriately, including driving after drinking and urinating in a public place. Five of the city's 15 councillors had called for him to stand down over the allegations.
