One year out from polling, both current Dubbo Regional Council mayor Ben Shields and former Dubbo City Council mayor Mathew Dickerson are yet to confirm whether they will be candidates come March 23, 2019.

Since speculation started about potential candidates for the seat of Dubbo, it’s a timeframe that has been mentioned numerous times by Mr Dickerson.

This week, Stephen Lawrence was identified as Labor’s candidate while incumbent member Troy Grant has indicated he will once again stand for Nationals preselection.

Mr Shields has said his focus is currently on council but hasn’t ruled anything out, while speculation is rife some of the minority parties are looking to put forward candidates.

Asked on Thursday whether he was able to reveal his intentions, Mr Dickerson said he was yet to make his mind up but conceded he was drawing close.

“Thanks for reminding me of the date,” he said when contacted.

“I did say that I would make my decision a year or so out, and I know that means it has to be soon, but I’m not at that point yet.

“Any decision I do make will come down to a range of different factors but the biggest one will be whether I think I can genuinely make a difference to Dubbo and the region by being the state member.”

Mr Dickerson is involved in a range of things outside of politics, including Tour De OROC, the Rotary Youth Driving program and the upcoming Digitech conference.

And he said his decision will ultimately come down to whether those things are of greater benefit to the community than entering state politics.

“My family have said they will support me fully if I do run, which is great, and I have no issue with the time commitment,” he said.

“If I do run I will need to invest a significant amount of time in campaigning, so the decision does need to come soon.

“Labor has obviously decided they need a year, and I’m not sure when the Nats and others will make their calls.”