Councillor Thomson, whose father was mayor and grandfather was a Shire president, is a member of one of the oldest families in the Shire and runs a sheep farm in Belowra, a 90 minute drive out of Narooma in the Shire's west.

"My great-great-grandfather started Central Tilba, and his brother started Tilba Tilba," he said. "We've been out here since shortly after the first fleet, and we've had this particularly farm for five generations.

"My family had a seat on the interim council before there was a proper council, and we've been there just about the whole way through."

Mr Thomson's agricultural background means he has been an important voice on the council for the past five-and-a-half years, and he said keeping agricultural voices in council's all over the state was important.

"From a rural perspective, it's issues that seem as simple as weeds as noxious pests, but these are extremely important to people," he said.

"I've managed to get increases in the weed budget over time, and when I talk to directors or the GM they always say they don't realise how important some of these things are.

"You need someone in council to keep hammering away and say these things need attention.

"Coastal care and keeping the towns nice is great, but we do have agriculture in the Shire and we need to keep these issues at the forefront."

This background also shapes Councillor Thomson's view on housing and the ways to fix the current affordable housing crisis gripping the state.

"We need to tidy up the boundaries of townships," he said.

"Say 'this is as far as we're going', and then allow more high-density housing in the townships. If we need to go up, we'll go up.

"We keep hearing people say 'this is as far we'll go', but then they'll release more land for housing.

"I'd like to see some lines drawn where you say 'this is it', and you deal with the housing after that however you need to, but at least you've locked up the agricultural land.

"We are an island, and we may have to start feeding ourselves at some point."

And while representation is a key factor in Councillor Thomson's candidacy, he also wants to see big projects from the previous council through to completion.

"I want to see Bay Pavilions through and finished, because that's a huge investment for the Shire," he said.

"Same with the southern dam which is just starting on the Tuross River.

"We need to keep hammering the state and the feds to keep the funding rolling for these projects, that's absolutely vital."