Labor councillor Chris Connor has been re-elected deputy lord mayor of Wollongong for a second term.
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Cr Connor was returned to the position after gaining the support of the Labor, Greens and independent councillors at Monday night's Wollongong City Council meeting.
He will continue in the role until the first council meeting next September.
Cr Connor won the show-of-hands election after two rounds of voting, which excluded other contenders: Liberal councillor Leigh Colacino and independent Greg Petty.
Cr Petty received one vote in the first round of voting and was knocked out immediately. In the second round, facing Cr Leigh Colacino, Cr Connor was supported by a majority including his fellow Labor councillors, the Greens' Jill Merrin and George Takacs, and independent Vicki Curren.
After the vote, Liberal councillor Bede Crasnich told the Mercury he was "gobsmacked" his party had lost, as he had believed Cr Takacs and Cr Curran would support Cr Colacino.
Lord mayor Bradbery thanked Cr Connor for his service and said he was looking forward to working with him for another year.
The deputy lord mayor's role is to fill in for the lord mayor Gordon Bradbery when he is away on holidays, sick or out of the city on business.
Cr Connor will step into the lord mayor role at the next council meeting, on September 8, as Cr Gordon Bradbery will be in New York on a planning study tour.
Later in the meeting, the position of joint regional planning panel delegate was also hotly contested by Liberal councillor John Dorahy, Labor's David Brown and Cr Curran.
When Cr Dorahy was knocked out after his name was drawn from a hat, Cr Curran was supported by a majority of 8-5.
The regional planning panel is due to deliberate over the controversial Bass and Flinders Gateway development at the end of this week.