A lawyer who has made a name for himself by losing elections by spectacular margins has announced he will be contesting the Auckland mayoralty and Mt Roskill by-election simultaneously.

The fact the mayoral and a possible by-election will not be held simultaneously does not bother Adam John Holland, who describes himself as “kind of an anarchist”.

He is standing as a Not A Party candidate and encouraging people not to vote.

If elected Auckland Mayor he will not do a single thing “just as I haven’t done a single thing for the past seven years of my retirement”.

“It is my belief that the role of an elected official ought not to impose one’s own views and laws on the people, but rather to stand down immediately and allow local communities to build and grow naturally,” Mr Holland said.

He has stood for office three times for a total of 57 votes.

His other two forays were in the Ikaroa Rawhiti by-election in 2013 and the Christchurch East by-election in the same year, in which he drew 15 and 31 votes respectively.

Mr Holland is the eighth candidate to come forward for the Auckland mayoralty contest. The other candidates are Labour MP Phil Goff, who will force a by-election in his Mt Roskill seat if he wins; businesswoman Vic Crone, businessman John Palino, Orakei Local Board member Mark Thomas, right-winger Stephen Berry, activist Penny Bright and former Green Party member David Hay.

Mayor Len Brown is not seeking a third term.

— NZ Herald