There are less than two weeks until the local government election and politics are in full swing over preferences in Newcastle.
Several Independent candidates have opted not to offer preferences to any candidates for the September 14 election after talks with major parties proved unsuccessful.
Ward three councillor Katrina Wark, who is running as an Independent after failing to receive Liberal party endorsement, issued a statement on September 3 saying she "will not be doing any shady preference deal with any political party".
But this was hours after Cr Wark made preference enquiries with the Labor party.
Cr Wark said after discussions she ultimately decided she was "better off going it alone" and "communicated to them that I've moved on and won't be changing my position".
The Our Newcastle Independents also said on September 3 that they will not be preferencing any other candidates.
"After lengthy consideration, Our Newcastle has decided to leave the allocation of preferences to our intelligent and aware voters," the group said in a statement.
"We implore voters to consider their preferences with great care, looking at the current performance of all parties."
However a double page advertisement published in the August 31 edition of The Local newspaper run by the group's ward three candidate Mark Brooker encourages voters to list Our Newcastle's Ross Kerridge first for lord mayor, followed by the Greens' Charlotte McCabe, Socialist Alliance's Steve O'Brien at three, then Liberal Callum Pull, Independent Milton Caine at five and Labor incumbent councillor Nuatali Nelmes last.
The published advertisement also includes voting directions for ward three, advising readers to put Our Newcastle Independents first, the Greens second, Katrina Wark's group third and Labor last.
The Herald understands the advertisement went to press while the Our Newcastle team was trying to organise a deal with the Greens, which later fell flat when the Greens opted to preference Labor ahead of the Independents group.
The Our Newcastle Independents group said it believed preferences of Greens and Liberal voters would likely decide the outcome of the lord mayoral vote.
"And in the wards, preferences will be important," the group's statement said.
Election analysts are anticipating a tight contest in ward three where Labor incumbent Margaret Wood, Cr Wark, Mr Brooker and Greens candidate Sinead Francis-Coan each have a chance to take the second and third spots on council.
Labor councillor Peta Winney-Baartz is expected to retain the number one councillor spot, which would be vacated by Cr Nelmes if she keeps her lord mayoral position. Cr Nelmes is the short favourite in the lord mayoral race.
But Cr Wood's success could determine whether Labor retains its majority.
In her statement, Cr Wark was critical of the Greens for organising a preference deal with Labor and called on them to "come clean on any backroom agreement they've reached with Labor before next Saturday's election".
Greens lord mayoral candidate councillor Charlotte McCabe said on August 30 that Labor "most closely aligned with Greens priorities".
"The voters of Newcastle deserve to know how the Greens and Labor will vote on any divisions for the position of deputy lord mayor, who will fill the directorships allocated to [the] city from Newcastle Airport as well as rectifying the ongoing saga that surrounds the chief executive of the council," Cr Wark said.
"The federal leader of the Greens has previously demanded that party agreements be made public. It's inconceivable that the Greens see it reasonable to hide behind the thin veil of 'policy compatibility' when we all know they'll wheel and deal to get something for themselves off Labor."
Cr McCabe said it was "extremely disappointing" that Cr Wark had chosen "this divisive grab for attention as the only announcement for her campaign".
"There are no deals," Cr McCabe said.
"Greens preferences were decided on merit, based on responses to questions put towards candidates.
"Preference decisions are always used as a means to attack our credibility and to seed confusion as to how the democratic process actually works.
"What's suggested on the how-to-vote tickets has nothing to do with decisions councillors make in the chamber.
"Ultimately, the decision for numbering the boxes is up to individual voters. Our preference recommendations reflect an alignment with Greens policies."
Cr McCabe said the Greens had a "good chance" of electing councillors in three wards, "which will mean those votes will not be passed to second preferences".
She said the Greens proposed a rotating deputy lord mayor and would continue to support a bipartisan approach to the role, while decisions for the appointment of Newcastle Airport board members would be based on merit.
Published how-to-vote information also shows that Labor has preferenced the Liberals at number three in wards one and four, while the Liberals have not offered preference options.
