Tamworth council elections: several new faces set to join council as election results become clearer

At the time of writing more than 24,500 formal votes have been counted, and Mark Rodda, Russell Webb, Bede Burke and Marc Sutherland are comfortably ahead of the chasing pack.

The latter two of those would be new introductions to council, although they appear unlikely to be alone on that front with Brooke Southwell and at least one member from the Labor ticket also on track to be elected.

Experienced heads Phil Betts, who would run for mayor, and Helen Tickle also look likely to be representing Tamworth over the next few years.

Mr Sutherland, 33, is set to become Tamworth council's youngest member and also its first ever indigenous representative, and said he's excited to take on the challenge.

"I'm feeling great, the support has been overwhelming," he said.

"Talking to people and hearing feedback from people across the region was really positive, but I was still just a little bit anxious to see whether or not that support would reflect in the ballot - and it has.

"The voice of the people has really come forward looking for some change and looking to bring a younger person into this space and I'm happy to be in a position where I can champion their voice."

With several other new people set to be elected he said it's an exciting time for Tamworth, but believes it's still important to have experience on council and is pleased it appears some of the old guard will retain their roles.

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While not an absolute certainty to gain a seat at the table, with preferences likely to play a part, things are looking positive for Ms Southwell, who at 35 would also add a youthful outlook to things.

Despite resigning from her primary job in order to run strong campaign, and having extensive experience working in the local government sector, she admitted to being a touched surprised by how many first preference votes she is picking up.

"It's looking pretty favourable so I'm pretty happy so far with the results," she said.

"I'm a little bit shocked, I thought I may not have as many numbers in terms of the primary vote."

If things fall in her favour and she does become a councillor, she has committed to putting that initial shock behind her and getting to work on achieving the goals she set out during her campaign.

The mother-of-three wants to see more future planning which will benefit the younger generations, and is also focused on making the entire local government area a desirable place to move to, not just Tamworth.

The possibility of working alongside other new councillors is something she is excited by.

"I think it's great to have some diversity because research shows having diversity on a board or any sort of leadership committee makes for better decision making, because you've got a different lens you're looking through," she said.

"So to have a few women, to have younger representatives and now to have an indigenous representative is only going to provide stronger decision making for the region."

Fighting it out for the final couple of places on council are incumbents Charles Impey and Jim Maxwell, alongside Judy Coates, Marjolyn Thomas and another Labor candidate - although which one it will be is not yet clear.

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