That business was Harrisons Hose Pet Rural, a store he ran out of Queen Street, Moruya, for 21 years until he sold it in 2015.

Now, six years after getting out of the business game, Tubby is ready to enter the political game with his candidacy for the Eurobodalla Shire Mayor.

Mr Harrison told the Bay Post he believed the Shire hadn't received "as good representation as we could have" from the past council, and that was one factor in his decision to run.

"I don't believe we've had particularly good leadership from the past council," he said.

"I think with a good group of councillors we could make a really big difference in the Shire.

"I also feel there's been a culture of secrecy, and people always get suspicious of that. There will always be decisions made that not everybody will be happy with, but if people can at least see why those decisions were made, they're more likely to accept them."

Tubby is originally from Melbourne, and moved to Perth in 1982.

"I met my wife (in western Australia), and started travelling across the Top End," he said.

"We were married in Katherine and had our two kids in Cairns, but I was a truck driver at the time which isn't the best job for a married man with a young family, so we packed up and drove down here.

"I've worked in the community a lot - I've always helped out at the Show Society, I've been on the board of the Moruya Jockey Club since the last 1990s, and I help put up all the Christmas decorations in Moruya each year.

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"The Eurobodalla Shire is a great place, even after two years of travelling around we still say there's no better place in the country.

"25 years ago when we moved here the South Coast was a hidden gem, but now everybody knows about and they're coming in droves."

Mr Harrison said he was looking forward to working in a "diverse" council if he's elected as Mayor.

"I really think the heads of all the groups will get in, and that will give us a very diverse council with diverse opinions," he said.

"To keep it as a good group of councillors working together will require some work, but I think we can do it.

"I think the people in council need to be more respectful of each other, and we need a council where people don't think it's a bad thing to be a part of."

In the end, Tubby's main reason for running for council is his "love" of the community.

"I believe family is a very important part of your life, but that also extends to your community," he said.

"I love the area, and I love the communities here - we have some fantastic communities and we just need to get everybody together a bit more."