MANY candidates running for Tamworth council are likely going to have a nervous few days, as the final results could take more than a week to determine.
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Mark Rodda, Marc Sutherland, Bede Burke and Russell Webb can rest easy though, after taking significant leads over the chasing pack, with more than 24,500 formal votes having been counted.
Helen Tickle, newcomer Brooke Southwell and Phil Betts can also feel fairly positive about their chances. It also looks likely at least one member of the Labor ticket will be successful, with Stephen Mears leading the way.
The race for the final position however is very open, with incumbents Charles Impey and Jim Maxwell fighting it out against Judy Coates, Marjolyn Thomas and possibly another Labor candidate.
Sitting back and watching that battle unfold will be Cr Rodda, whose high-profile advertising campaign seems to have paid off, as he was comfortably leading the way by more than 5 per cent at the time of writing.
"I wasn't sure of how well I'd do, given it wasn't really a traditional election where we could stand at pre-poll for two weeks and hand out how-to-vote cards," he said.
"My message to voters was, I always like to focus on the simple things and try to deliver the simple things - better roads, kerbs, footpaths, parks and gardens."
Much like Gunnedah's Colleen Fuller, who collected a large share of the votes there, he said, listening to landholders and their concerns regarding projects, even ones proposed by council, is crucial in serving the community properly.
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He acknowledged having a council with several new members can be challenging to begin with, especially if there are people with very conflicted views, but said they need to learn how to work together to achieve common goals.
While the region has experienced huge amounts of rain this year, Cr Rodda said working ahead to support water infrastructure for when another drought hits has to be a focus of everyone with a seat at the table.
Cr Betts, who will run for mayor if elected, shared the concerns about bedding in several new councillors, and said it would be important to create good harmony even though people have different ideas.
"It's now vitally important that the councillors work as a very close team," he said.
"Certainly there'll be a lot of differences of opinion, but we need to really bring all of those team members together to make the best decision for the broader community."
Unless voting patterns change significantly as the results roll in, it is unlikely Ray Tait, Chris Buckman or Stephen Maher will be successful in their bid to join council.
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