Cr Moore, who has led Sydney's Town Hall for more than a decade, has not announced whether she will contest next year's council elections.

But some of Cr Moore's fellow City of Sydney councillors, including the Liberals Edward Mandla and the Prime Minister's sister Christine Forster, have already declared they will be seeking to take her job.

The September 2016 election is shaping up as a landmark poll regardless of who runs. It is to be the first contested under new laws mandating a higher business vote and in the wake of potential changes to the city's borders.

The ABC's respected voting analyst Antony Green said the impact of any boundary changes was not yet clear. But Mr Green said the change that would give businesses up to twice the vote of residents - which he described as a "rort" - could still fail to unseat Cr Moore.

"But she would struggle to keep the majority on the council," Mr Green said.

Cr Mandla said this would be the "major consolation prize" if he did not defeat Sydney's long-serving lord mayor: if Cr Moore loses one councillor's seat from her five-vote bloc she loses control of the council.

"If she wins, she actually loses. She's going to be in this little minority in the corner," Cr Mandla said.

"In a way it would be ultimate payback for years of [her] not listening to anyone."

But Cr Mandla's first challenge will be the Liberal preselection, with Cr Forster declaring that she too wants the sought-after position at the top of the party's ticket.

"So it will be a showdown," said Cr Mandla, who was the party's lord mayoral candidate at the 2012 local government elections.

"She would have to mount a very good case as to why she should replace me."

"But what I've pointed out is fear nothing more than the Liberal preselection, you have no idea how many other people might come out of the woodwork."

Cr Forster, who had unsuccessfully sought a spot on the Liberal upper house ticket ahead of the March state election, said the "healthy" preselection process would be well-contested.

"I'm prepared to be judged on my record by the party and ultimately the electorate will judge whoever the candidate is," Cr Forster said.

"And that's all a good thing."

Other lord mayoral hopefuls are already stepping forward, including the city's independent councillor Angela Vithoulkas, who this month announced she will head a new "Sydney Matters" team contesting next year's poll.

Labor's candidate is expected to be determined through a community preselection. Its sole councillor Linda Scott said: "I'm very enthusiastic to nominate as part of that process".

Alex Greenwich, the Independent Member for Sydney and a close ally of Cr Moore, said he hoped that she would run again.

"And I feel that that sentiment is reflected by a majority of businesses and residents within the City of Sydney," Mr Greenwich said.

Mr Greenwich, who won the Sydney seat after the government's dual roles legislation forced Cr Moore to relinquish the role, said if she did retire from Town Hall there were a "a number of talented and effective independently minded high-profile people in Sydney" who would be called on to step forward.

"And I'm not going to name any of them," said Mr Greenwich, who had "no intention" of contesting the spot himself.

Mr Green said independents did not have a good record of passing on their power, which was usually built around the personality of the candidate.

"Once Ted Mack retired, the independent movement on North Sydney Council fizzled out," Mr Green said. "And I suspect the same thing could happen with Clover Moore."