The nomination of Arthur Rorris as an independent candidate for Wollongong raises the stakes for the state election on March 28.

Until his nomination, the sitting member, Labor’s Noreen Hay, was surely the clear front runner in the existing field.

Now, everything has changed.

And it may change again if Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery also throws his hat into the ring as an independent.

So far, Mr Bradbery is staying mum.

But in the 2011 election, he came within a hair’s breadth of toppling Ms Hay.

Then, Ms Hay won 35.6 per cent of the primary vote. Mr Bradbery was second, with 29.5 per cent. The Liberal candidate, Michelle Blicavs, ran third with 20.2 per cent.

After preferences, however, Ms Hay just kept her nose in front of Mr Bradbery, 50.9 per cent to 49.1 per cent.

All of which promises to make the upcoming vote very interesting indeed.

Both Ms Hay and Mr Rorris have strong claims to the traditional Labor vote. If Mr Bradbery stays on the sidelines, they may well cannibalise each other’s vote.

However, if Mr Bradbery buys into the fight as well, voters would have to choose between three high-profile candidates from the Left.

The possibilities for splitting the Labor vote become endless.

More significantly, it might also open the door for the Liberals to play a key role.

Perhaps even a decisive role.

In the last election, the Liberals did not direct their preferences at all.

But in a three-way stoush between three local heavyweights of the Left, they could be tempted into playing a more strategic game.

Specifically, they could divide their preferences between Mr Rorris and Mr Bradbery equally by handing out two different sets of How to Vote cards.

By sending their preferences to both, they could still claim not to have favoured either in particular.

Depending on how Ms Hay, Mr Bradbery and Mr Rorris steal votes from each other, there is every chance that even with half the Liberal preferences, one of the independents – most likely Mr Bradbery – could get over the line.

And there is little doubt the Liberals would love to see the back of Ms Hay, whom they loathe.

All of which makes Mr Bradbery’s decision even more interesting than it already promised to be.

Over to you, Gordon.