Bathurst Regional Council has scheduled an extraordinary meeting for Wednesday at 4pm, where the mayoral election will take place.

A second extraordinary meeting will be held at 4pm Thursday to deal with a notice of motion lodged by councillors Jess Jennings, Jacqui Rudge and John Fry that says, in part, that the council no longer has confidence in ex-mayor Bobby Bourke as a sitting councillor.

READ MORE: Mayoral race taking shape as Bourke faces a no-confidence motion

They had requested that it be dealt with prior to the mayoral election, but that request was clearly denied.

Acting mayor Ian North, who has served 11 terms as deputy mayor, is set to become mayor, with no contenders having come forward yet to challenge him for the position.

Cr Jennings said last week he was considering putting his name forward, but told the Advocate on Friday that he had decided not to run.

"I'd rather steer clear of this mayoral election, to be quite honest. This council is in such a parlous state and such a shambles that it's a bit of a poisoned chalice," he said. "... The shortness of the period and the current massive cloud over the council, put those two together and it's not a particularly attractive option."

Another possible candidate was Cr Graeme Hanger, who hadn't entirely ruled out running last week.

However, he said on Friday that he too had chosen not to run, again citing a lack of votes in the chamber.

He declined to say who he would be prepared to support in the mayoral election.

Cr North told the Western Advocate late Friday afternoon that he was "quietly confident" he would be chosen as mayor, based on conversations he has had over the last week.

He said he respected the other councillors and would wait to see what they decide, but acknowledged that being mayor of Bathurst would mean a lot to him.

"I have always said it would be an absolute honour and privilege to be mayor this city," he said.

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At this stage, it is unclear how many councillors will contest the election for deputy mayor, but Monica Morse will be among them.

She said she had been talking to most of the other councillors to work out the best way to move ahead for the final eight weeks of the current council.

She believes that Cr North has the experience to "keep the council on a steady course" and said she is willing to serve as deputy mayor, hoping to bring her mayoral experience to that position.

Cr Morse said she hopes that in the lead up to the local government election in September, "councillors can demonstrate their willingness to discuss issues, particularly now that the division over the site of the go-kart track has been resolved".

The need for a mayoral election, just eight weeks out from electing a new council, comes after Cr Bourke resigned as mayor on July 2.

His resignation followed the airing of ABC's 7.30 program the night before, in which it was alleged that he was involved in a blackmail attempt against Cr Jacqui Rudge in 2020.

READ MORE: Councillor Jacqui Rudge airs new allegations over blackmail letter

Cr Bourke said he "wholly denied" the allegations of bullying and threatening.

He remains a councillor and plans to run for re-election in September.

A limited number of members of the public will be allowed to attend the extraordinary meetings next week.

People wishing to attend will need to reserve a seat by contacting Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC). Masks must be worn during the meetings.

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