Voters, opponents and even colleagues are never left in doubt how Dunedin South MP Clare Curran feels about issues.
She is a strong-willed woman who is fiercely proud of South Dunedin, and also the wider Dunedin South electorate. But it is the flat of South Dunedin which drives her passionately.
She took the closure of Hillside Railway Workshops personally and was a leader in the fight to retain the workshops.
But her passion and fight often sees her in trouble with her colleagues as she grabs headlines for the wrong reasons.
Her forthright manner may see her not win a cabinet position in a Labour-Green-New Zealand First coalition.
Although she has superior skills in the ICT role for Labour, Green MP Gareth Hughes could be in line for that role.
In fact, if Labour loses, Ms Curran's career could benefit, because by not being on the list, she remains in a strong position to set the direction of the party in the future - if she wins her seat.
Ms Curran also had to several times deny she was shifting her allegiance from Labour to the Internet Mana Party.
She and Dunedin North MP David Clark backed Grant Robertson in the three-way leader contest, won by David Cunliffe.
Dr Clark suffered little in the resulting portfolio and ranking shuffle but Ms Curran found herself demoted to associate ICT spokeswoman.
Her demotion did not sit well with supporters in the South.
Ms Curran has plenty on the line tomorrow.
She chose, along with other MPs who do not fit Labour's new image - Trevor Mallard and Ruth Dyson included - not to take a ranking on the party list, probably realising her ranking would be insulting.
Ms Curran told the Otago Daily Times she absolutely stood by her decision not to go on the list.
''I should be able to win the seat and if I don't, I shouldn't be in Parliament.
''I clearly want us to win. I am sick of being in Opposition.''
Asked how she would feel not being offered a cabinet position, Ms Curran said she was a member of the Labour caucus and would stand by any decision made.
However, she had specialist skills in an important area of business growth.
''It used to be about just telecommunications. It is much wider than that now.''
Labour insiders praised the campaign run by Ms Curran and classed her campaign, and that of Dr Clark, as two of the best in the country.
Both MPs had an eye for a local issue - Ms Curran with Hillside and Dr Clark with Invermay and both combining on getting Labour to commit to upgrading Dunedin Hospital.
Other less public gains for Ms Curran included bringing a US-franchised computer club to Dunedin to help at-risk youth, instigating community gardens across South Dunedin and actively working to get better broadband access at Outram.
Among her frustrations were the lack of progress on a community facility in South Dunedin, and she expressed her frustration at the lack of action from the Dunedin City Council.
Labour would also commit to ''urban revival'' in South Dunedin, otherwise the council would sit having meetings for the next five years, she said.
