Friends of the late Fa'anānā Efeso Collins say the ex-local body politician touched the lives of countless constituents in South Auckland and the Pasifika community.
The Pasifika advocate and former mayoral candidate's life and career almost overwhelmingly took place in Auckland, having grown up in the suburb of Ōtara.
Two friends of the former Green MP spoke to Q+A about his life and the "shock" to many in the community.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki councillor Josephine Bartley served alongside Collins around the council table. Both had been involved with their local Labour electorate committees.
"You see the outpouring on Facebook - all the organisations that are putting up tributes," she said.
"The personal stories - he reached so many people, even if it wasn't face to face, it was by messages that just supported them.
"That spark, you see, is just rippling out there of the impact he had on people's lives."
University of Auckland academic Patrick Thomsen had known Collins since his time at uni when he became the first Pacific president of the Auckland University Students' Association.
Collins was also a founding member of the Auckland University Pacific Island Students Association.
"He was jovial. He was funny. He was lively. But just really caring and generous to so many others, even to me. One thing about Fes is that no matter how high his public profile became, he still remained connected to us in the community," Thomsen said.
"He would message everybody. Like Josephine was saying, there's a lot of tributes that have come out on social media, and people are saying things like, ‘Fes would randomly message me. Like, I haven't seen him in two weeks, or I haven't seen him in two months, and he would just randomly message me to ask how I was, how is my family?’
"That's the kind of guy he was."
Often referenced in his tributes, Collins' devotion to his daughters often stood out in his aspirations and political beliefs, Bartley said.
"Everything he did was to create a better world for his daughters," she said.
"You saw that that was the reason why he took the platform into council, was for a better city, took the platform into Parliament for a better country, and then fighting for, you know, climate issues for a better world.
"His motivation was out of love for his daughters, for a better world for his daughters, and that carried him through all the challenges and the death threats and everything that faced him — the racism he encountered when he stood for the mayoralty."
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand on Air
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