Council was poised to get two extra Labor Party members, taking their tally to seven, after voting in last Saturday's by-election but the numbers were too close to call as the Gazette went to press.
In Ward 1 (Leura to Mt Victoria and including Mts Wilson and Irvine), Labor's Sarah Shrubb, an editor based in Leura, topped the primary vote with 31.5 per cent (2703), narrowly ahead of the Green's Kerry Brown with 28 per cent (2395). They were followed by the Liberal Party's Adrian Morris with 21 per cent (1830), with Independent Jim Carothers, a Katoomba builder, on 12.6 per cent with 1080 votes. Fellow Independent Tony Robinson polled 582 votes, or nearly 7 per cent.
The final margin in Ward 1 was very close, partly because of a preference deal between the Greens and Mr Carothers.
In Ward 2 (Faulconbridge to Wentworth Falls), the Labor Party's Annette Bennett, a TAFE teacher from Hazelbrook, received 27 per cent, or 2694 votes in the primary count. Independent Rob Thompson, who campaigned heavily on the issue of inefficiencies and waste within council, ran second with nearly 23 per cent (2258 votes). The Liberals' James Beckett polled 21 per cent (2049) and former councillor Kerrin O'Grady, representing the Greens, achieved 17 per cent (1726).
Independent Angela Lougheed, a Hazelbrook business owner, polled nearly 10 per cent (973) but the other two independents gathered just a handful of votes - 141 for Joaquim De Lima and 104 for Victoria Arney.
The by-elections were held following the resignations of Clrs Robert Stock (Independent for Ward 1) and Geordie Williamson (Greens in Ward 2).
Ms Shrubb said she was "really pleased" to have topped the primary vote. "And I'm very grateful to the members of the community and the party and my family and friends for supporting me. I do hope that preferences fall my way."
Ms Brown, a horticulturalist and former manager of Everglades, said the result showed that "at council level, party lines are not so important. I was surprised by the people who said they were going to vote for me."
She was also "delighted" at the primary result. "It gives us confidence, whether we win or not, we will be there in the next full election."
Ward 2's Annette Bennett said she felt "humbled" to have won the primary vote and thanked the community for their support.
"I am proud of the positive and constructive campaign that I ran, in which I directly engaged with locals in the Mid Mountains community. I anxiously await the declaration of the final result," she said.
However the final votes fall, it was most likely there will be at least two more women on council, joining the sole female councillor, Romola Hollywood.
But the voter turn-out was very low - 64 per cent in Ward 1 and 67 per cent in Ward 2. Ward 1 Independent candidate Tony Robinson said he had made an official complaint to the Electoral Commission.
"Not enough people voted to call it an election. They should call another one," he said.
Preferences were being distributed by the Electoral Commission on Tuesday and the results declared today.