KIM Olsen is the first person outside the council to announce to the Daily News he will contest the next local government elections.

Mr Olsen, who served for one term on the former Warwick City Council about 15 years ago, said he wouldn't rule out running for either councillor or mayor.

"I'll make that decision closer to the time," he said.

"But it just feels right (to run again) - I've got time, I'm ready and I've got more confidence since my last term. I know I could do it well."

Mr Olsen has spent the majority of his life in Warwick, attending Warwick East and Warwick High School.

After six or so years living in Mullumbimby, he returned to Warwick nearly three years ago. He said if elected, he would work to bring the whole region together.

"If I was mayor, I'd like to allocate areas to councillors and cover the whole area," he said. "My interest is more in community organisations and people."

Other points in his resume include having been Chamber of Commerce president in the early '90s and the greens candidate for Maranoa in the 1998 federal election.

He said while it was hard to prompt how he would feel on local issues until he was councillor, he was against the Allora chicken hatchery and any type of factory farming.

An issue Mr Olsen said he would lobby for was making rates payments easier.

"I can't see why we can't have quarterly rates (as opposed to yearly)," he said.

"I raised it 15 years ago and their reason against it wasn't substantial enough. I think it needs to be re-thought."

The father-of-four is setting up a website, www.kimolsen.net, which will be up and running in one week. Through it, he said he wants to hear local feedback about local issues.

Already the future of Slade School and pensioner woes have been raised with him.