Donna Peters is officially the first candidate named for the local council elections in September this year.
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A 10-year resident of the town Mrs Peters is a physiotherapy assistant at the hospital and has volunteered her time to a number of local organisations.
Mrs Peters said she was excited to be the first registered candidate on the roll.
"There was an article in the Guardian a couple of months ago by Judi Smith, so it was her who really encouraged me to stand," she said.
"I had taken leave to travel and saw her article and thought that's me, she wanted a diverse range in the council and she wanted women.
"So I think it's a really good time now, we are powering out of COIVD, the world is getting well, Australia is getting more positive and Cowra is getting more positive.
"I just want to be part of that."
She said she was passionate about the future of Cowra and local government and if elected hoped to focus on gowning the town.
"What's in the town is great, we have great bones, but there is more we can do and I want to say 'let's do it'," she said.
"My other side of life is working for the electoral commission, I find it really important people know how important it is to vote and I don't want people to be disenfranchised.
"I just want to work to get the place going forward, from my investigations 30 per cent of the residential rentals are taken up by new people to town, that is something we need to plan for.
"I want to be part of that, we can't go back to the 2016 census when country towns were shrinking.
"The Central West is energized and it seems like the right time for some new candidates, we can't knock experience, but I'm willing to learn from a team that wants to get things done."
Mrs Peters said one of her focuses if she was elected would be working to increase tourism to the town.
"Cowra geographically is in a really awesome place, we've got a beautiful river and the parks and gardens are the best anywhere," she said.
"The POW camp is awesome but it can be more so, the fact that Cowra is the town which had the biggest breakout of POWs in all of World War II, I don't think we promote that enough.
"I'd like to see signs at the perimeter depicting barbed wire and cheery blossoms, that commemorates the Japanese Garden and the POW camp.
"If we can get more tourists to the town, we can get more money into town, which helps shop owners and businesses and then they may be encouraged to employ more people, open more hours, I want this (current) energy to continue."
As the first candidate on the register, Mrs Peters stressed there was still time for other new candidates to nominate.
"This level of government is the one that makes a difference to you every day," she said.
"Federal taxes can raise and you might not notice it, but this level of government matters every single day, it's right in your face.
"Whether it be roads and rates, entertainment, parks, the pool it's the one that matters to everyday people.
"So stand up and have a say, it's $125 to nominate, stand up and have a say.
"Before you vote think about what issues are important to you and ask the candidate what they stand for.
"When you get to put the numbers on that box it's a really important thing."