One says he is outspoken and the other labels himself more the quiet guy who lets things happen.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark and Southland District Mayor Rob Scott had different styles of leadership — but both found common ground when they were doing the best they could for their communities, they said.
Both elected members will complete one year in their jobs next week after throwing their hats in the mayoralty ring following one term as councillors.
Mr Clark described his year as challenging.
The council was working well together and achieving some good outcomes, such as fast-tracking the region’s museum construction and the resolution of the contract of the recycling plant, which guaranteed the jobs of workers with disabilities until 2027.
However, he also acknowledged some moments were not so good.
"We’ve had a few ups and downs.
"Certainly, around the time that involved [the resignation of] Nigel Skelt was a bit tense, but the council seems to operate as a group well."
Mr Skelt resigned in May after accusations of inappropriate behaviour from a ILT Stadium Southland female employee when he was the general manager of the facility came to light.
Mr Clark had been directly involved in the situation.
While he did not regret his actions, he said the challenging part "was the reaction of some councillors about the whole incident".
"I know the family involved very well, and they have said to me they appreciated the work I did.
"So, whether people think it’s an old boys network, and I was trying to cover up — that is not true."
Mr Clark also made national headlines over controversial comments in public meetings.
"I wouldn’t do it again, knowing what I know now.
"But I don’t regret doing it."
Mr Clark said he was focused only on the outcomes for the city.
He had a list of about 15 points which he would like to be sorted, or at least on track, before the end of the term, which he guaranteed would be his only one.
He had a countdown to his phone which measured the number of days left in the job, which he called his sentence.
"I’ve had people asking me if that means that I don’t like the job.
"No — it is just to remind me every day that I have an awful lot of stuff to do."
Meanwhile, Mr Scott described his year as intense.
For him, it was hard to point out a specific challenge, as Southland was a big region with many communities.
However, Mr Scott believed he learnt a lot from the floods last month and said his focus had been building a strong foundation, right from the start.
"We’ve got 69 elected members, so that it is a challenge.
"I feel lucky to have such a good, strong, committed team of people, and for me, that was important in those initial days to get everybody on board.
"I think that’s a core part of my job, leading the structure."
He believed this was the key to his council having a lower profile than some other regional councils.
"I think everyone is here for the right reason, and I think Cameron [McIntosh, district council chief executive] and I both showed a strong commitment.
"The role of mayor isn’t about me and what I want to do — it’s about enabling our elected members to carry out what they want to do for Southland and then just to provide the platform and empower them."
One of the things he felt most proud of in this first year was building a bridge between the council and the communities.
He believed many of them felt left out in the past but now they were feeling more connected.
He still wanted to achieve much more, such as balancing infrastructure work, which included replacing ageing bridges and roads, against addressing rates affordability.
Mr Scott also wanted to review the system, relationship and funding model with central government, as the region was quite large, with not many ratepayers.
"We contribute so much more into New Zealand than we actually get back.
"It’s time to get some of that back now because we can’t, as ratepayers, keep paying for the rest of the country."
