Independent Daniel Watton has declared victory in the Cessnock mayoral race after a historic feat over Labor incumbent Jay Suvaal.
Final numbers on Tuesday, September 17 showed Cr Watton secured 49.41 per cent of the votes, overtaking Cr Suuval who finished on 42.93 per cent - just 2588 votes between them.
"What a historic result. Thank you Cessnock for putting your trust in me and voting for change," Cr Watton posted on his social media.
"I am very humbled by all of your support, I cannot wait to get to work."
He said he will be soaking up the celebrations with his family before organising a larger celebration with everyone else.
"We'll celebrate with all of our candidates, volunteers and members of our community once the dust has settled," he said.
"One of the first things I look forward to doing is organising community hub style gatherings right across our LGA. This will be absolutely key for us in obtaining essential and accurate feedback from each of our villages and towns, concerning needs to be considered in our upcoming delivery program (due for revision 2026)," he said.
"Efficient, and effective forward planning is vitally important here, to ensure fair distribution of resources is available for each pocket of our community."
Cr Watton held off on declaring victory despite early figures on Sunday showing his lead over Cr Suvaal.
"While I'm still optimistic of a positive outcome, I won't be declaring a victory officially until these numbers come in," he told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
He wanted to thank other candidates and the team of volunteers who helped bring this year's campaign to fruition.
"I remember what it was like back during the 2021 election, where we had very limited resources to work with. Thank you for all of your time and dedication. None of this is possible without all of your involvement," he said.
He also expressed his gratitude to his wife Courtney and their children Isabella, Isaiah, Chloe, Holly and Josh.
"I'm a very fortunate man to have you all in my life. Regardless of any outcome in any election, I've already won in life because of you all," he said.
Cr Watton also acknowledged Cr Suvaal, wishing him all the best moving forward.
"I'd like to acknowledge Jay Suvaal, for the commitment he showed during his term as mayor. I wish both Jay, and his family all the best for the future," he said.
"I think it's time to celebrate."
Cr Suvaal told the Herald that he would not be mayor on Sunday.
"I want to thank all those who have supported me, our campaign team and our amazing candidates. But most of all I want to thank my family who I now look forward to being able to spend more time with," he said.
