Cr Burke confirmed to Fairfax Media on Sunday that he would contest the mayoral role when voters head to the polls in September.

It comes after he said last week that he was considering whether to run for council again – though he also said at the time that he would contest “the captain’s job” if he decided to stand for council.

Cr Burke, who played first grade for the Maitland Pickers rugby league side that tasted success in the 1960s and 1970s, has served two terms on council after being elected in 1999 and again in 2012.

The independent councillor echoed outgoing mayor Peter Blackmore’s previous comments on Sunday and said he believed party politics should not be part of local government decision-making.

Cr Burke said the continued revitalisation of Maitland CBD, through projects like The Levee revamp, had been council’s key “successes” in recent years and he wanted to oversee those plans as they continued.

“I think the success of this council has really been attributed to the independence,” he said.

“The last 18 years under Peter [Blackmore] we’ve seen [Maitland] go ahead in leaps and bounds.

“There are projects that need to be seen through to the end. 

“There’s no doubt there has been a rejuvenation or our CBD and I think the success of any city has to be its CBD. We need to see that through.”

Independent councillor Philip Penfold has previously confirmed he will contest the mayoral election and Labor councillor Loretta Baker has nominated for pre-selection to be the party’s candidate for the top job. The remainder of councillors have either not yet confirmed they will run for mayor, or have decided against doing so.

The serving mayor, Cr Peter Blackmore, announced earlier this month that he would not contest the September election, after an unbeaten run of almost 20 years as council’s leader.