A CHANGING of the guard and a tight challenge ruffled some feathers at the Liberal party's Lake Macquarie council pre-selection ballot on Wednesday night.
Incumbent Cr Jason Pauling scraped through over Melody Harding, who is understood to be a potential mayoral candidate, 19-16 for west ward.
The Newcastle Herald understands some members had hoped Ms Harding might be the party's first lead female candidate for any ward or for mayor.
Cr Nick Jones, who was sacked in February for failing to turn up to three meetings in a row, lost the lead position to Matthew Schultz 21-12 for east ward.
The tight challenge for west ward came as a surprise to Cr Pauling, who said he was "taken aback" by how close the vote was.
Cr Pauling said he understood some party members were disappointed Ms Harding had not won the west ward spot.
"I've never met Melody so I can't make any assessment," he said.
"I think in terms of that whole gender piece, merit is probably of more value than gender.
"I think people want quality councillors more than specific quotas, I've always been anti-quota, and look, if in due course or next time that is three females, or whatever that might be, then so be it."
The pre-selection ballot determines party members' preferred candidates for the September local council election.
The candidates will need to go through a Liberal party vetting process to be formally endorsed.
The Newcastle Herald contacted Ms Harding and Mr Jones for comment.
Mr Schultz said he was grateful to party members for their support.
"As a born and bred east ward resident, I know very well just how much suburbs like Swansea have been let down and left behind by the Labor council," he said.
"The Liberal team and I will be working every single day to earn the confidence of the community for our plans to better support the local residents and small business."
Mr Schultz said there are serious economic and growth opportunities for Lake Macquarie in the years ahead.
"The Lake Macquarie Liberal team will ensure that these opportunities are not wasted," he said.
Cr Pauling said he was disappointed Mr Jones was not returned as a fellow lead candidate after he was caught in "unfortunate circumstances".
"I am disappointed for Nick, because Nick was well-respected by fellow councillors, and it's nothing against Matt, but certainly Nick will be missed by the council and other councillors and I think he was a strong contributor," he said.
Cr Pauling is serving his third term on Lake Macquarie council.
He said he had worked hard for his constituents and felt that had been acknowledged by residents.
"I'm just going to continue to advocate for good policy and ratepayer value," he said.
"So as much as clearly, there are some people that don't appreciate how I've been operating on council, I'm happy and I think I'm respected by staff, fellow councillors and I think I've made quite a considerable contribution.
"Certainly my intention is to continue to do that."
In Maitland, the Greens have announced a full ticket of fresh candidates for the September election.
Campbell Knox, 21, will stand in Ward 1 and Paul Johns, who stood as a below the line Independent in 2021 will stand in Ward 2.
Metallurgical engineer Michael Jacobs will stand in Ward 3 while graduate student of Applied Ethics Jessi McDonnell will stand in Ward 4.
