The campaign fight is on among a growing field of candidates who will fight for nine positions on Port Stephens Council and the coveted mayoral robes, in the countdown to September 9.
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And fight is the operative word with key players already tangled up in court proceedings, including the mayor Bruce MacKenzie who has confirmed he will stand again.
Labor ignited the campaign last week when it named nine candidates - including Des Maslen who will stand for mayor - before nominations open on August 1.
Mr Maslen hasn't shied away from the contest despite a defamation case Cr MacKenzie has brought against him over a Facebook 'share'.
Unperturbed Mr Maslen even took to local radio on Tuesday to challenge Cr MacKenzie to not bow out of the election but stand again and be “voted out”.
Cr MacKenzie had remained guarded about another tilt at the job but came out firing.
“If he wants to vote me out, well I say good luck, Desmond,” he told Fairfax.
Asked what swayed him in the end, Cr MacKenzie said it was “party politics”.
“People say all the time I’ve got a voting bloc but I’m fighting with them all the time,” he said.
“You only have to look at what goes on in Canberra, where they argue if it’s black or blue, to know we don’t want that here.
“I don’t want [Labor] caucusing on a Sunday to decide which way they’re going to vote on Tuesday.”
Mr Maslen told Fairfax on Monday he was determined to win, even though the defamation case had already cost him his prized boat to mount the legal fight.
“I’ve been wanting to get a cruiser since I was a little kid and I finally got one a bit over a year ago but that’s the way things go,” he said.
“We want to be completely open about running as a Labor team. We’re not hiding behind the ‘independent’ tag this council needs change.”
‘Stability and cooperation’ are what’s needed
Cr John Nell for one is hoping for a more cordial council after the election to bring to an end what he said was a disruptive chapter in local government politics.
He won't be standing for mayor but he did take aim at Cr MacKenzie and Cr Dingle.
"It would be nice to see some fruitful discussions come back into council, we haven't had that in the past four or five years," he said.
"The whole council has been dominated by two people [Cr MacKenzie and Cr Dingle] who can't get along with each other."
Cr Nell, a Labor Party member and councillor of 30 years, said he had no issue with running against Labor candidates in the East ward.
"There was nothing for me to gain out of running for preselection," he said.
"I don't really think that it matters what your political alignment is, you get involved because of your background in the community and you want to help people.
“I don't see there being any real platform for Labor or any party to stand on [to date].
“Labor and Liberal are probably still in the process of developing their platforms for this election.”
Cr Jordan – an independent who has previously sought election to state parliament on a Liberal ticket – maintained it was a lack of party politics that had made Port Stephens Council “successful”.
“Port Stephens Council has been free of the party political policies and infighting we have seen in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, which is one of the reasons we have been successful in delivering new and improved infrastructure, keeping rates low and maintained a strong financial position,” he said.
“There will be no benefit for the people of Port Stephens by having party political candidates playing games in council.”
Nominations for election do not open until August 1 and close noon on August 10.
Several people have already said the intend to run for council.
Other than the Labor ticket there's Tomaree Business Chamber president Ryan Palmer who has declared he will seek election to become mayor.
Boomerang Park Action Group chairwoman Jillian Lye has also said she will stand for election to become a councillor in the West ward.
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