The former mayor of Maclean and the Clarence Valley on the north coast, was appointed administrator of the council, following the amalgamation of Armidale Dumaresq and Guyra Shire councils last year.

In the first election of the new council, voters gave the administrator a tick of approval and rejected most of the sacked councillors who stood again.

Former Armidale mayor Herman Beyersdorf, who has been a constant critic of the administrator, struggled. As counting continued yesterday, he had polled just 139 first preference votes.

In fact, the only former councillors who appear guaranteed of gaining a quota of the required vote are Guyra’s former deputy mayor Simon Murray, and former Armidale Dumaresq councillor Margaret O’Connor.

Mr Murray polled very well in the rural booths, and led the count early as the votes from those smaller communities were tallied.

Ms O’Connor had previously served as a Liberal councillor. When the party decided against running a ticket in this election, she formed her own ticket, Margaret O’Connor’s Independent Team, which had received more than nine per cent of the vote as counting continued yesterday.

Armidale businessman, Jon Galletly, looks set to be elected as well.

At some of the booths in the city, he was the most popular candidate.

Speaking on Saturday, he said many of the voters indicated they were voting for change as they headed into the polling booth.

“They’re really looking forward to getting a clean lot of councillors in, to have a crack,” Mr Galletly said.

While the Liberal Party did not run candidates, the Labor Party polled strongly, which should see Debra O’Brien elected.

Ms O’Brien, a former Labor candidate for state parliament, led the party’s ticket.

Counting will continue this week, and the result is expected to be confirmed by next Saturday.