Labor is not the only party facing a potentially bruising round of preselections before this year's local government election in Newcastle.
Liberal sources say Thomas Triebsees, a former Germany officer who ran for Newcastle in the state election last year, is lining up to challenge incumbent ward three councillor Katrina Wark.
Former independent Newcastle councillor Aaron Buman has been linked with a rival Liberal ticket to challenge sitting councillor Callum Pull in ward four, but Mr Buman said on Sunday that he would not be running.
"That could not be further from the truth," he said.
"I will be helping the team out in September but will not be nominating."
Mr Triebsees said that under party rules he could not comment, but sources said he was contemplating standing for preselection in the lord mayoral vote as well as in ward two or three.
The Liberals' Newcastle state electoral conference secretary, Brendan Tate, has also been mentioned as a potential rival to incumbent councillor Jenny Barrie in ward two.
The talk of preselection challenges comes after a bruising factional battle before the 2021 council elections produced allegations of bullying of female party members, prohibited donors, racism, abusive phone calls and branch dysfunction.
Newcastle's Labor branches have been embroiled in a long-running dispute which has led to all seven incumbent Labor councillors, including lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes, facing preselection challenges on February 17.
The Liberals have not yet called for nominations for preselection and are unlikely to confirm candidates for the September elections until the middle of the year.
One of the members involved in the Liberal infighting, Blake Keating, now sits on the party's state executive.
Mr Keating ran unsuccessfully in ward one in 2021 but would not comment on whether he planned to stand again for preselection.
Cr Barrie, Cr Wark and Cr Pull confirmed they would renominate for their ward seats on the council.
Any preselection challenges to Cr Barrie and Cr Wark could raise the eyebrows of the NSW Liberal hierarchy after the state executive decided last year to pursue a benchmark of 40 per cent female candidates.
But it is unlikely the state executive would overturn a preselection vote, even if branch members opted for two male candidates in wards two and three.
Former Liberal John Church, who quit the party two months before the 2017 council elections and ran successfully as an independent, said he had not decided whether to run again in ward one or for lord mayor.
"I am consulting with my support base and taking soundings in the community before making a decision," he said.
Cr Church retained his seat in ward one in 2021 but failed to oust Nuatali Nelmes as lord mayor.
Cr Nelmes won 41.9 per cent of the primary vote for lord mayor while Cr Church was 14,700 votes behind on 27.3 per cent.
