The Liberal party has failed to nominate all four incumbent Cessnock councillors in a "gut-wrenchingly disappointing" blunder that one believes could spell the end of the local branch.
The party missed the 12pm deadline on August 14 to register candidates in numerous council areas across the state, including Newcastle, Maitland and Cessnock.
In Newcastle, candidates were registered for lord mayor and all wards except ward three, where Matt Bailey was endorsed to run.
Two Maitland Liberal members missed out including two-term councillor Ben Mitchell and Michael Cooper, who was endorsed to run in ward three and was planning a tilt at mayor. Deputy mayor Mitchell Griffin decided to lodge his nomination as an independent after sensing there may be an issue with the party's registration process, while incumbent Liberal Sally Halliday's nomination was successfully registered.
But the most damage in the Hunter was done in Cessnock, where all four Liberal councillors Paul Dunn, John Moores, Karen Jackson and Paul Paynter were not registered as candidates.
"It really is hard to see this and have it pulled out from under us with absolutely no control," Cr Dunn said.
"It is gut-wrenchingly disappointing."
Cr Dunn said he was particularly frustrated as all four councillors were nominated on uncontested tickets without the need for pre-selection and he submitted the appropriate forms to the party "months ago".
"We were literally the first council to have all of our paperwork, nominations and that into the party," he said.
"That was the hardest thing about it was the fact that others had pre-selections and fights between them and they got our paperwork and just sat it aside."
The councillor said he believed the matter would have ramifications for the federal election.
"Not necessarily in seats like ours but across the state definitely," Cr Dunn said.
"The question is in every single federal electorate, what is the reaction of the Liberal party with people on the ground?"
He also questions the future of the party in Cessnock.
"There's a big question about whether we can be sustainable in Cessnock anymore because I don't know the outcome of what this is going to look like," Cr Dunn said.
"It may possibly be the end of the Liberal branch in Cessnock if we can't maintain enough members."
Maitland Liberal councillor Ben Mitchell, who previously served as deputy mayor and is the youngest person to ever be elected to Maitland council, described the situation as "an injustice to many candidates and voters who are now left with no options".
Cr Mitchell said on Thursday he had not heard anything from the party, only through the media that state director Richard Shields issued a statement blaming the blunder on a lack of resources.
He said all four candidates had complied with requirements and deadlines set by the party.
"I am deeply disappointed that the NSW Liberal party chose to issue a statement using lack of staffing resources as an excuse before even informing the candidates who didn't make it," he said.
"I don't buy that excuse.
"The date of this election was not sprung on the NSW Liberal party.
"It is a legislated date.
"Appropriate hiring should have been done in anticipation for a workload they knew would be large."
His colleague councillor Mitchell Griffin paid tribute to both Cr Mitchell and Mr Cooper who he said "would have been very dedicated and hard-working councillors within the new council".
"This is a very difficult time for both candidates, who had been working very hard and were likely to have been elected on September 14," Cr Griffin said.
Newcastle lord mayoral candidate Callum Pull focused on the successfully nominated candidates in a statement about the situation.
"Liberals are still running, and the people of Newcastle will still have an opportunity to vote for change at the upcoming election," he said.
