In 2022, Peterson ran for Invercargill City Council, finishing a disappointing 33rd out of 34 candidates.
In his run for mayor, he received only 91 votes, less than half of 1% of the total vote.
“Good after the election. . . I actually became quite disappointed and whakamā and withdrew for quite a while,” says Peterson.
“And then about three or four months ago, I started going out a lot more.
But I thought, 'You know, the community doesn't really deserve a wizard'.”
Peterson feels Invercargill has rejected its message of looking after the planet and fears the region is being governed by people who only pay lip service to environmental issues.
One of his biggest disappointments was the feeling that his message on the climate crisis had been overlooked.
“I wish and hope that more people in the community realize that we need to change. That the world is changing and we have to change with it,” he says.
“We can’t just maintain our sloppy ways and carry on as before.”
Good news for those who fear that Peterson has hung up his robes for good: the man who has called Southland home for about a decade assures that he will “always be a magician.”
The robe is worn less these days, he admits, because wizarding clothing is impractical and hot, and heat exhaustion has proven to be a problem in the past.
Peterson has also not ruled out running in the next election.
One of the main obstacles is cost: the last campaign cost about $3,500, including new clothes and a haircut.
However, some of these expenses would be transferable.
“I still have the clothes, so I don’t have to buy them again,” he says.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air