Dale Stephens has studied serial killers, chaired boardrooms and run two campaigns in Christchurch Central. Now he wants the seat for National at the third time of asking.

“We won the party votes in 2023 in a very red seat, so I think we’re making great progress,” Stephens said.

Born and raised in Christchurch, Stephens worked in Wellington for a period before returning to the city in 2014.

He said he thought long and hard before committing to another campaign, given his other commitments, but decided the seat was worth the effort.

“This is really important. It’s important to me, it’s important to the city. I believe in Christchurch, my heart and soul is in this,” he said.

“I think I can be a very stubborn and worthwhile advocate for Christchurch in Wellington.”

Stephens has worked as a police officer, in the corporate world and in government agencies, both in New Zealand and overseas.

He now works full time in business governance, chairing four organisations, three in New Zealand and one internationally, and has also chaired New Zealand Māori Tourism.

He said his years in policing shaped how he handles pressure.

“I spent many years as a serious crime investigator looking at some of the worst and violent crimes in the country, and in fact I studied serial killers as part of my thesis for my master’s degree,” he said.

“To me there’s no such thing as a bad day at work, because I know what bad can really be.”

Stephens said the issues he was hearing on the doorstep mirrored those across the country, including the cost of living, education and access to health care.

His own focus, he said, was on the next stage of the city’s recovery: creating careers for young people and commercialising the technology and innovation developed in Christchurch.

“We all know that our kids study, go to university, go overseas, but do they come back?” he said. “What I want to see us build is a range of career opportunities so that our best and brightest can say, actually, those jobs are right here in Christchurch.”

Stephens chairs the Ministry of Awesome, a Christchurch organisation that supports young business entrepreneurs, and said the role showed him the obstacles facing people starting out.

“I see day to day the various challenges that are put in front of first time business people, understanding regulatory requirements, legal requirements, how do they get access to funds, what’s a good marketing plan,” he said.

Asked what he most wanted to deliver in a first term, Stephens said he wanted to see major civic projects through to completion.

“There are discussions around the museum and the Square, and I’d like to see them progressed and finished,” he said.

He also wants a more unified social services sector.

“We have so many great social service agencies, but it’s a little bit fractured at the moment, and I want to see better cohesion so that we’re delivering for more families, more people in need, but delivering more effectively,” he said.

On whether he would step back from his board roles if elected, Stephens said he had discussed the question with party headquarters and would not walk away from his commitments.

“I don’t want to take on directorships and then simply walk away from them,” he said.

He said he would resolve how those roles fit alongside Parliament after the November 7 election.

“I’m the sort of guy that gets up in the morning and gets a million things done before breakfast,” he said.