Waimate Mayor John Coles is seeking his third term.
Mr Coles (66), who was elected to the Waimate District Council in 1992, ousted long-serving mayor David Owen in 2004.
He had a clear majority over his challengers Anne Townend and James Gibson in 2007.
There were "still things in the pipeline" that Mr Coles wanted to see advanced "a little bit further".
He and his wife Sandra have moved from their Otaio farm to Waimate and that had made the mayoralty job easier, he said.
