Council elections: who is running in September and what do we know so far?

Either way, voters will voice their opinions at the ballot box on September 14 to elect nine councillors to represent them on Tamworth Regional Council (TRC).

TRC will be hosting an information session for prospective candidates on Wednesday, July 17, at the Tamworth Community Centre to learn about the role of a councillor from mayor Russell Webb and TRC General Manager Paul Bennett.

The Leader plans to provide as much information as possible up until election day, starting off our election coverage with a brief overview of who has registered to run as of July 3.

Prospective candidates have until August 14 to register. Registered candidates are listed below in order of when they registered with the NSW Electoral Commission.

Long-time councillor and former deputy mayor Mark Rodda is standing in his fourth local government election.

Cr Rodda told the Leader he's confident in his re-election chances and wants as many members of the community as possible to register and run.

"I always think the more the merrier. I've seen a few elections where there are 20-something candidates," he said.

"I'm running for council to continue being the fierce, independent voice for the people of our region and to represent their concerns in the council chamber."

Mr Sharpham was briefly a member of the Liberal party but ran as an independent for New England during the 2022 federal election.

He works in IT for the state government and runs a small drone business. He also does consulting work on agribusiness and solar energy.

"The way I see it the majority of councillors aren't listening to constituents, proven by the SRV [special rate variation] approval," Mr Sharpham said.

"Council needs to open the gate for more investors, not just for the same people all the time."

Former president of the Tamworth Dramatic Society Daniel Gillett has been a community representative on TRC's City Centre Working Group for several years.

Now Mr Gillett wants to be a part of council's main cast.

The local actor, director, and Regional Partnerships Officer for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service says he's running because he sees a huge amount of untapped potential in promoting local arts and culture.

"We need to get Tamworth's night time economy revitalised, that's the first thing. We need to invest in our main street, get out of the way of business, and I want to see better choices for how we attract people to the region," Mr Gillett said.

Current councillor Steve Mears officially joined the race alongside Laura Hughes and Thomas Robinson

The Leader understands all three will be running as part of a Labor ticket, though the full list of party members is yet to be finalised.

"I believe there's still a lot of work to do. We've seen a lot of the electorate is not being listened to and that's what I came on council for, to be a voice for the people," Cr Mears said.

"They're the people that elected me and I'll stand beside them every day of the week."

Retired police officer Jeffery Budd says he's running to get TRC to take action on youth crime.

After serving with the NSW Police for more than 36 years he says the biggest problem is that local courts don't have enough options in terms of youth diversion programs.

"It's either bail or jail, that's basically it. Anyone who thinks a great place for kids is jail has no comprehension of what that means," Mr Budd said.

"Eventually they will [go to jail] if they keep re-offending, but there are very big resources in this community that are underutilised in terms of providing alternatives for kids to be re-directed."

President of children's charity Riseup Tamworth, Tim Simpson, is also on the register of candidates but told the Leader he has decided to withdraw.

The Leader is also aware of several candidates who are expected to appear on the register of candidates in the coming days.

These include former councillors Ray Tait and Charles Impey, co-owner of Sonny's Bakery and Cafe Anthony Daniel, and Greens Party candidates Ryan Brooke and Gemma-Lea Tormie.