Wodonga's head detective Graeme Simpfendorfer has joined the race for a seat on council with a desire to be part of the city's post-COVID recovery.
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Detective Sergeant Simpfendorfer will remain working for Victoria Police if successful in being elected in October.
In confirming his decision to stand, he said re-establishing the city's events calender and attracting more business investment were keys to Wodonga bouncing back from coronavirus.
"I'm really passionate about being able to bring the town through the next phase after COVID," he said.
"We are going to see a lot of people potentially look to move out of the metro areas.
"It's a fantastic place to live, work and play, raise a family, visit as a tourist, do business in, and despite the current global challenges I believe (Wodonga) will be one of the first regions to prosper post-coronavirus."
Detective Simpfendorfer, a father of three, has lived in Wodonga for a decade after growing up in Wagga and starting his 26-year policing career in Melbourne.
Another Wodonga policeman, Larry Goldsworthy, is an Indigo Shire councillor and former Wodonga cops Kevin Mack and Murray King are presently serving on Albury Council.
On splitting his time between policing and local government, Detective Sergeant Simpfendorfer said: "I've sought a lot of advice leading up to this and I'm comfortable where that sits.
"It is a fine balance, but as a father of three kids, I have their support as well."
Meanwhile, former Wodonga Golf Club professional and business chamber manager, Bernie Squire, is also nominating.
Mr Squire worked in local government at Ballarat before moving to Wodonga in 2002.
He presently works in disability employment services with The Personnel Group.
Mr Squire will be seeking to improve council's community consultation methods if successful in being elected.
"I still hear people saying things like 'who made that decision', or 'why weren't we asked our opinion on that'," he said.
"So it would appear to me that the current methods still aren't quite working.
"To get better decisions, you need to gather a more diverse range of thoughts and opinions, but eventually the community needs to have confidence that they have been listened to."
