City of Busselton councillor Paul Carter is running for his second term on council in the upcoming local government election.
Mr Carter said he was motivated to be a councillor, not because he thought there was anything wrong with the city, but that he wanted to be involved.
"I have been very vocal on issues in the past and I thought there was no point in being vocal or whinging when you could get in there and have an impact yourself," he said.
Mr Carter said many community members were concerned about growth in the region, but he hoped it would provide better opportunities for people.
"I want my children to grow up and have the choice to be educated here if they want to, and if they want to leave I would like them to come back, if they wanted, and have opportunities," he said.
Mr Carter said councillors should not be focused on one issue, and that the role required a holistic approach.
"You have to look at the whole electorate, it is not only about a 50 metre swimming pool, or an airport, or indoor basketball courts," he said.
"It is about finding a balance and working out how you could eventually get those facilities, it does not just happen instantly.
"The flip side is you need to keep rates down.
"I have always focused on that and am one of few in the chamber who pushes back at rates and tries to find ways to improve efficiency within the organisation.
"Benchmarking is something I have asked the city to do on many occasions and quite often get told it is too hard to benchmark an organisation because councils are all so different.
"There has to be a way and it is something I would like to focus on moving forward because if you do not do it, you do not know how efficient you are.
"I am not saying the organisation isn't run well, it is run very well, but you need to look at ways you could do things better."