Now, almost nine years later, Ms Worthington leads a Greens ticket featuring Nadine Hills, Kylie Ryder, and Charlie Bell, in the Eurobodalla Shire Council elections on December 4.

Ms Worthington has lived in Moruya since moving to the Shire, and has worked several retail jobs in the town including her current stint with Moruya Books. She also runs an online store selling reusable cloth menstrual pads.

"I arrived here in Yuin Country in 2013, and I was absolutely drawn to stay by the stunning natural setting - the beaches, forests, and rivers just called me to stay still," she said.

"I also loved the community I came across, particularly in SAGE. I was so inspired to see this group of people who thought there was a need to improve health outcomes in the community, and to get everyone to dig a bit deeper into our food.

"My connection to the community grew out of that, and soon I found myself working retail in Moruya and meeting a lot of people that way.

"My business is based out of Moruya, and I live just on the edge of town to be able to ride or walk in to work each day."

Ms Worthington is no stranger to areas with natural beauty. She was born to a "large Catholic family" in the lower Blue Mountains and spent a long time living on Bruny Island, just south of Hobart in Tasmania.

"I've done a lot of work in hospitality in tourism, and I've always lived in such beautiful regional areas," she said.

"I started out in a beautiful place, and I've continued that throughout my life."

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Now ready to start her political career, Ms Worthington said she was drawn to the Mayoral candidacy because the community is "ready for a change".

"I believe people want to see some fresh faces on council," she said.

"I absolutely stand proudly as a Greens candidate because I know they stand for economic and social justice, environmental responsibility, and strong grassroots democracy.

"Climate is also a big motivation for me to stand for council. I campaigned during the 2019 Federal Election which was termed the "climate election", and I felt that was a crushing blow to climate activists around the country.

"Without that action at the Federal level, I turned to what we can do locally on the ground. We have some amazing community groups like SHASA and Zero Southeast who do the work to bring the community into a low-carbon economy.

"They've shown what can be done on a local level and, if council joins in, we can really go some place on climate action.

"There aren't many people who would deny we've lived through the worst aspects of climate change, but we can build resilience and be prepared for future changes."

And even though voting will look a lot different in 2021 due to COVID-19, Ms Worthington said it had been a "really exciting time" to be campaigning".

"The community is really ready for a change, and there's been a great response to all of these new faces," she said.

"I feel strongly that we can build a council where we all work together to achieve great outcomes for the community."