Former Otago District Health Board chairman Richard Thomson has announced he will be seeking re-election to the Southern District Health Board this year.
Mr Thomson, who had previously indicated he was unlikely to stand again, said the "passion with which I have thrown myself into the neurosurgery debate has made me realise just how much my heart is still attached to health".
The issue had reinforced for him the need for a much stronger working relationship between the Dunedin City Council, the board and the university, he said in a statement announcing his decision.
He saw neurosurgery as just one of many potential issues which could have an impact on the board and the city.
Mr Thomson is also standing for the city council.
He is a member of the Southern District Health Board and spent seven years as the chairman of the earlier Otago board before being dismissed by Health Minister Tony Ryall last year because the minister was seeking accountability for the $16.9 million fraud of the board.
Mr Thomson was able to stay on the board, however, because unlike other district health board chairmen around the country he was both an elected board member and an appointed chairman.
He will be contesting one of four Otago places on the new southern board.
