The by-election race in the Whāngārei ward of Denby may have taken an ugly turn.
The home of candidate Huhana Lyndon, which she shares with her three daughters, was ransacked on Wednesday.
Ms Lyndon told Newshub it's impossible to be sure whether the burglary was politically motivated, but it fits a disturbing pattern of behaviour.
"You start to wonder, because I've had a good 10 billboards vandalised or knocked over - including the one outside my house," she says.
Ms Lyndon is a strong advocate of environmental causes, has been actively involved in coordinating community responses to suicide in the community and is a vocal supporter of Māori wards on Whangārei District Council.
"This is what I put my name too and don't get me wrong, I'm prepared to take a bit of heat because that's just politics. However, the invasion within your own home has definitely affected my family"
Ms Lyndon made the discovery after work on Wednesday, just before she was due to pick up her daughters from school.
"It was quite invasive; they'd gone through room by room and basically turned everything upside down. It was almost like a movie scene," she says.
However, she's staying positive, saying the recent events have made her more determined than ever to win.
"Community safety is my mantra, so it's definitely motivated me further to keep getting people to vote before the seventh of December."
Newshub.
