The election is set to be a battle between new and old, with one fresh face and three incumbents - Graeme Hanger, Jess Jennings and Ian North - telling the Western Advocate that they are interested in being mayor.

Councillor Robert Taylor will be the challenger to the incumbents.

In another twist, he is working on a deal for another new face, Cr Ben Fry, to be his deputy.

The duo secured the most votes in the council election, and Cr Taylor said those numbers gave him confidence to put his hand up.

"It's shown a mandate there that the community are looking at a change. No disrespect to the incumbent councillors with the leadership that they've had in the past, but to us the community out there are looking for a major change," he said.

While he says he is "not overconfident" that he'll have the numbers, the Western Advocate understands Cr Taylor has secured the votes of councillors Fry, Kirralee Burke and Andrew Smith.

READ MORE: Meet the new faces elected to Bathurst Regional Counci

With their votes, Cr Fry's, and his own, Cr Taylor would only need one more to grab the mayoral robes.

Despite having no prior council experience, Cr Taylor is confident he has the ability to do the job.

"I may have been a councillor for two days, but with me being in the community and associating with numerous committees and boards, I can bring that knowledge and my business skills [to council]," he said.

Cr Taylor will have a hard time convincing some that his background is enough.

Rival Cr Jennings is among the skeptics.

"I think it could be a very unfortunate outcome to go from citizen to mayor without being a councillor in between, particularly given the substantial issues and errors and problems that have been caused in the past that need to be resolved," he said.

"That requires a lot of corporate memory to undo that damage that's been done."

In Cr Jennings' eyes, the future of Mount Panorama will be one of the biggest issues in the new council term, and he believes he is the only one who can fix it.

"I firmly believe I am now actually the only person in the chamber who can build a bridge with the [Wiradyuri] elders and rebuild that relationship, and if that relationship isn't properly repaired then you can kiss the second circuit goodbye and kiss the go-kart track goodbye," he said.

While Cr Hanger said he might run for mayor, he is still in talks with other councillors about his vote.

Meanwhile, Cr North has firmly stated he will run.

He said he is not overly confident that he has the numbers at this stage, but he's hoping his council experience and recent performance at the polls will help.

"I'll give it my best shot and hope that our new councillors would realise that experience is needed," Cr North said.

With so many candidates in the field, it is likely some will need to broker a deal to secure the five votes needed.

Cr Jennings said he can work with Cr North and is open to a deal, but is adamant he has no interest in being deputy mayor.

When it comes to the deputy's role, new councillor Marg Hogan said she is interested in the position.

"I'm having conversations with many people and trying to make the best decision for the community," she said.

The election will be held at 4.30pm Thursday in the council chamber. The meeting is open to the public.

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