Now, the Tuross Head man will harness his local knowledge into a tilt at the Mayor's position at the upcoming local elections on December 4.

Mr Smith is running on the same ticket as fellow Mayoral candidate Noel 'Tubby' Harrison and will go up against six other candidates for the lead role.

"I was a Balmain boy originally, but I've been in the Shire for 40 years," Mr Smith told Australian Community Media.

"I've worked throughout the whole Shire from Durras to Tilba, so I know it very well.

"For the last 20 years I've run TeenSafe at Moruya Speedway which aims to put teenagers on our roads with safe driver skills, and that led me into the Fix the Bloody Highway campaign.

"I was also chair of the Moruya Hospital board for many years, and I've previously been a deputy captain of a local RFS brigade."

Mr Smith is also a member of a local Classic Car club and the Vice President of the Moruya Film Club.

When asked why he's decided to run for Mayor, he said it was time for change in council.

"I've been talking to a lot of people, and there's a feeling that we need change in the Council," he said.

"We don't believe they've been supportive, and we have to look to the future with new directions."

He said his time lobbying for a Level 4 Hospital in the Eurobodalla Shire, as well as a vastly improved Princes Highway, also motivated him.

"The Highway just isn't safe, it's beyond its original design capacity," he said.

"I've been lobbying for more overtaking lanes and centre barriers for years, and these are key things our Council could be assertively lobbying for.

"Having a Level 4 Hospital is so important for our future. In my time as Chairman of the Board, I'd estimate the community has spent at least $100 million transporting people to other hospitals three or four hours away."

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Two years ago Mr Smith was one of the driving forces behind an investigation into raw green prawns being sold at supermarkets in the Shire.

"These prawns can have white spot disease," he said.

"We have a huge prawning industry in the Shire, and if these prawns were used as bait the disease could get into our lakes.

"I wrote a piece that went to our federal member and got a reply from Quarantine essentially saying they were looking after it.

"All of our local members were horrified, but nothing really happened until it was picked up by Four Corners.

"That show found the quarantine was inadequate, and there was a prawn farm in Queensland that had to close down because it got white spot disease from these prawns.

"Shortly afterwards I noticed a little article in the news about how they've stopped green prawns from being important into Australia.

"That took two years, and it was such an important issue for our community, but Council did nothing.

"If I'd been on Council, I would have tried to do something immediately. We need more people on Council who are aware of what's going on around the Shire."