[4] Hills finished second in Hunua, which was regarded as a safe National seat, behind incumbent Paul Hutchison.
[7] In April 2018 Hills put his name forward for the Labour nomination in the Northcote by-election following Coleman's resignation.
Hills failed to win the nomination and instead Shanan Halbert was selected to contest the Northcote seat for Labour.
[10] Hills was also re-elected to the Kaipātiki Local Board but was automatically excluded following his election as a councillor.
[11] At the 2019 local body elections, Hills was re-elected as one of the two North Shore Ward councillors, to serve for the 2019–2022 term.