Former Liberal MP Bob Baldwin has joined another political veteran, Bruce MacKenzie, in eyeing off a tilt at the Port Stephens mayoral election this year.
Mr Baldwin, 69, said late on Monday that he was considering nominating for the mayoral job being vacated by Ryan Palmer at the September local government elections.
The former Paterson MP said in May that he would not seek the role, but on Monday he said Cr Palmer's decision not to seek re-election had prompted a rethink.
"Ryan Palmer's done a pretty good job," he told the Newcastle Herald.
"I'm still talking to people. I want to see what ward tickets are assembling. I don't want to end up in a hostile environment where you can't get anything done."
He said he would make up his mind whether to nominate in the next two weeks.
Mr Baldwin said Cr Palmer and his predecessor, Mr MacKenzie, had shown "strong independent leadership".
He said he shared their conviction that "partisan party politics should have no place in the council".
"The role of mayor is to maintain a strong local community focus and represent each and every constituent, not the select few," he said.
Mr Baldwin was the member for Paterson from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2001 until he retired in 2016 after a boundary redistribution skewed the electorate in Labor's favour.
He has worked recently as an adviser to Hunter engineering firm Varley and is a director of the Newcastle-Port Stephens Game Fishing Association and chair of the Australian Fishing Trade Association, both of which are opposed to the Hunter offshore wind project.
He has not been a Liberal party member since 2017.
He said he was "energised" after his break from public life.
Mr MacKenzie told the Herald in May that he was weighing up whether to run for mayor again.
The 86-year-old businessman retired as mayor in 2017 after 42 years in local government.
He said he expected to win the popular vote for mayor but was unsure if he would run against Mr Baldwin.
