Nominations for the ward seat by-election, necessitated by former Queenstown Lakes district councillor Lex Perkins' resignation last month, close today at noon.
Mr Stevens (43) told the Otago Daily Times he had lived in the Wakatipu region for 17 years and in Arrowtown for the past six.
He is the owner/operator of Dudley's Cottage cafe and gold panning and is the co-founder, co-owner and editor of the Lakes Weekly Bulletin.
He is a member of the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association but would stand down from that role, if elected to the council.
One of the major issues for Arrowtown would be managing development carefully, to protect its history but also ''being realistic, with eyes forward to the future'', he said.