More than four million votes are expected to be cast in local government elections, setting the tone for the next four years of local roads, homes and environment.
Several councils face an unavoidable shift to the left after the Liberals' headline-grabbing debacle in which 140-odd endorsed candidates were not nominated.
Clover Moore is seeking to extend her reign in Sydney Town Hall, 20 years since becoming the city's first popularly elected female mayor.
The elections will be marked by a lack of Liberal candidates after many weren't nominated. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
Political analyst Ben Raue cautioned against putting too much stock in recent media toying with the idea Sydney's next lord mayor would be anyone but Ms Moore.
The 78-year-old's team had a history of winning slim majorities and again faces fractured opposition, he said.
"If you look at Clover's vote, it's tended to bounce up and down," the founder of the Tally Room election website told AAP.
"I would say you can't assume from that trend, it won't bounce back (from a drop in 2021).
"It's hard to see who would be the one to beat her."
But it would prove interesting if Ms Moore dips into minority for the first time on the 10-seat council, he said.
Elsewhere, 140,000 voters in Sydney's fast-growing southwest will weigh in on the well-publicised fight between Liverpool's Liberal mayor and the Labor state government.
Labor had attempted to address alleged serious maladministration and dysfunction in the council and defer elections, only to run out of time due to the mayor's legal challenges.
It will be one of the battles keenly watched by Liberals, whose failure to nominate some 140 of their 400-odd endorsed candidates will be felt for years.
The centre-right party will miss out on a six-figure sum of party councillor dues and lose its eyes and ears in many local meetings.
The absence of the Liberals will also likely result in Penrith, Camden, Northern Beaches and Blue Mountains councils shifting left, though the Liberals could win seats in Parramatta after an absence.
Housing availability is tipped to be an issue among voters with a lack of dwellings at crisis level. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
The first council poll since the national housing crisis took hold will also test whether affordable dwelling arguments can succeed at the local level.
More than 50 candidates - including Ms Moore - have taken a pledge with pro-development group Sydney YIMBY, which has won support from Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg and senior state Labor ministers.
David Borger, who chairs a pro-development alliance that includes Sydney YIMBY, said it's outrageous so many were lining up to block new homes "in the middle of the worst housing crisis we've ever seen".
"We need to ensure Sydney councils make place for everyone, not just for those who already own property and want to keep others out," he told AAP.
Not every area is being forced to the ballot box.
Thousands of rural residents including in Cowra, Junee and Berrigan will get to enjoy an election-free Saturday after the number of nominations in their area matched or, incredibly, fell short of available seats.
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