The former Upper House president will get a rails run for
the ALP nomination after their first choice, Tony Pooley, announced he was
pulling out of the race.
Deputy Mayor Pooley is understood to have felt he would be
unable to combine the Lord Mayor’s role with his existing job – a key criticism
of Ms Moore’s decision to serve both as MP for Sydney and Lord Mayor.
However, the move also comes amid internal party polling
showing Labor will almost certainly be trounced by Ms Moore and may even lose
one of its existing seats.
While Ms Burgman would always have stood a better chance of
defeating Ms Moore, it is believed Labor hoped to avoid a high-profile catfight
it was certain to lose.
However, the battle lines have now been drawn, with Ms
Burgman expected to make herself available to the party today and be nominated
unopposed.
Ms Burgman was already in campaign mode last night, telling
The Daily Telegraph: “Tony’s view that he just can’t do it and have
another job is the reason I’m standing against Clover. It’s not a part-time
job.”
Source: www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23799459-5001021,00.html