NEWCASTLE has returned a Labor mayor to city hall, reelecting Nuatali Nelmes with an overwhelming majority that will rival and perhaps surpass Jeff McCloy’s sweeping 2012 victory.
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And voting figures at the close of counting on Saturday suggesting that Labor and the Greens will have an even firmer hold on the numbers in the new council.
Labor will have at least four councillors, while the Greens polled strongly in all four wards and could potentially increase their presence on the council.
And while there is still plenty of uncertainty about the result in the wards, at the suspension of counting on Saturday night though Ms Nelmes had won a clear victory over her closest rival, the independent candidate Kath Elliott.
Ms Nelmes had collected about 43 per cent of the vote, Ms Elliott 21 per cent and the Greens Therese Doyle about 14 per cent.
David Compton, the disendorsed Liberal Party candidate, still polled at about 12 per cent.
Ms Nelmes arrived at a raucous celebration at the Lambton Bowling Club at about 8.30pm and thanked her supporters for a “team effort” during the campaign.
Alluding to criticism she’d received from her opponents during the campaign for the 2015 Special Rate Variation, Ms Nelmes said she had made “hard decisions” during the term but that they had “paid dividends”.
“I believe people throughout the city have seen the difference we’ve made by doubling our infrastructure works program in this city,” she said.
“That makes a difference in people’s lives and I think people recognised the scare campaign against us for what it was.
“The attitude that I’ve taken, along with my Labor team, is that we need to make sure we’re moving Newcastle forward and not stuck in perennial debate all the time and rejecting jobs and opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Ms Elliott and her team of independent hopefuls watched the numbers roll in from Elemore Vale.
The mood was upbeat, despite Ms Elliott conceding the mayoral race to Cr Nelmes just before 9pm.
Ms Elliott told Fairfax Media she was proud of the "clean campaign" her group ran in the eight weeks since it was formed, and accused Labor of running "a dirty campaign" against her team.
"We're really, really pleased that so many people voted for us," Ms Elliott said.
"We came form nowhere eight weeks ago and it was always going to be hard to knock Labor off in this town - it's a Labor town.
"I congratulate Cr Nelmes on her win."
The independents are hopeful of having a councillor elected to each ward - herself in ward two, John Church in ward one, Andrea Rufo in ward three and Allan Robinson in ward four – though there is still significant counting still to be done.
"What we will do over the next three years, as independents, is take it up to Labor. As John F Kennedy said: 'to those who much is given, much is required'," she said.
"People have put their faith in Labor... we will be holding them to account every day for the next three years.
"All we have as our main focus is the people of Newcastle."
When asked what she thought made the difference in the lord mayoral race, Ms Elliott said: "it's very hard to knock off an incumbent".
"Nuatali Nelmes has been, really, campaigning for the last five years," Ms Elliott said.
"She's well known, her brand is well known. For us to be able to achieve what we've achieved in eight weeks - nobody knew who I was eight weeks ago - I'm very pleased with that result and I want to build on that."
