The nominations have closed, and local body election campaigning has begun, as candidates across the South vie to run the region's councils, community boards and health boards.
Dunedin's traditional late surge of nominations occurred again, with candidate numbers swelling as the week progressed.
And, like it or not, the region can expect plenty of politicking and posturing before voting closes on October 9.
The Dunedin City Council election should be one of the more interesting contests, with representative changes, and plenty of fall-out from some of the bigger-ticket items, such as the Forsyth Barr Stadium, sparking debate.
The last election was fought with the stadium a constant background issue, but it was not enough then to make much of a dent in the status quo.
Whether that holds true for 2010 is the question on everybody's lips.
In Dunedin, six people are challenging incumbent mayor Peter Chin, who won in 2007 with more than 21,000 votes, almost 15,000 votes ahead of the second-placed Lee Vandervis.
Mr Vandervis is back this year, in both the mayoralty and council elections after losing his council seat in 2007, while Cr Dave Cull's high profile on the council should make him a strong candidate.
Another factor this year is the return of Cr Cull's Greater Dunedin ticket, expanded this year to nine candidates, and the new "progressive left" ticket, Community Vision, with four.
Voting for Dunedin councillors has undergone a major change this year, with city wards being merged into one large central ward after a representation review.
That ward should be fascinating to watch, as it holds plenty of existing councillors and well-known challengers.
The numbers of candidates are similar: in 2007 the city wards attracted 37 candidates, while the central ward this year has 39 vying for 11 positions.
Deputy mayor Syd Brown and Greater Dunedin's Kate Wilson are back for the Mosgiel Taieri ward, with four challengers, including former councillor Maurice Prendergast, and outspoken East Taieri identity Brian Miller.
The Waikouaiti Coast Chalmers ward, held by Cr Andrew Noone, has one position, with Community Vision's Geraldine Tait the only challenger.
Most community board members are back for another go, with just a few new candidates putting their names forward.
Twenty-two candidates are seeking places on the Southern District Health Board.
It is the board's first election, after the merger in May of the Otago and Southland District Health Boards, with members from both serving on the new body.
Now, 11 candidates apiece from Otago and Southland will compete for four spots in Otago and three in Southland.
Just three members of the old Otago board are running again: Richard Thomson, Branko Sijnja and Malcolm Macpherson.
Stephen Cairns is standing down as chairman of the Otago Regional Council, and with contentious issues such as water quality, flood scheme development and the new headquarters still to be decided on, the numbers standing are the lowest since the 2001 election.
As a result, there will only be elections in the Dunedin, Dunstan and Moeraki constituencies.
Eight candidates are standing for the six seats in the Dunedin constituency compared with 12 in 2007, 11 in 2004 and 14 in 2001.
Candidate numbers are also down in the Molyneux and Dunstan constituencies, with two standing compared with five in 2007 and three standing compared with four in 2007, respectively.
In other mayoral contests, Waimate's John Coles has been re-elected unopposed for a third term, while Alex Familton (Waitaki) and Janie Annear (Timaru) both have candidates standing against them. Mackenzie Mayor John O'Neill is standing down. Graeme Page, Dave Pullen and Claire Barlow are the contenders.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council will have a new mayor after Clive Geddes announced in June he would stand down after three terms. Tim Shadbolt faces a challenge from Suzanne Prentice in Invercargill.
Central Otago voters get to vote on who they want as mayor but that may be the only choice for many of the district's residents.
Three men are vying for the mayoralty - Malcolm Macpherson, who is seeking his fourth term, his deputy Tony Lepper and Alexandra businessman Jeff Hill.
No election is needed for the Central Otago District Council as nominations in each ward matched the vacancies, but an election is needed to determine the make-up of two of the district's four community boards - Cromwell and Maniototo.
The Roxburgh Community Board still has a vacancy so a by-election will have to be held.
