Cr Bradbery was one of 14 councillors across the two cities who told the Mercury they had applied to the NSW government to be part of any “interim” council should the proposed mergers go ahead, after expressions of interest closed on Friday.

“I’ve indicated that I’m prepared to participate in the role, and I’ve ticked the box that I want to be the mayor,” he said. “I’m prepared to work with the government in that interim period, and also to stand as Lord Mayor for the next election in 2017. I’ve been elected by the majority of people for this.”

Cr Bradbery’s Shellharbour counterpart, Mayor Marianne Saliba has also applied to be part of the interim body, despite her strong opposition to the merger process. She said her community and other councillors had asked her to do so, saying she was “damned if I do and damned if I don’t”.

“I have been asked to put my name forward, but if I do, I will be premising it with a statement saying that I totally oppose the merge,” she said. “But I want to ensure the people of Shellharbour are properly represented.”

Outside of the two mayors, the intentions of four councillors regarding the interim council remain unknown, and only two – John Murray and George Takacs – have said they would not seek to be part of the interim council.

For Cr Takacs, his decision was based on work commitments, as he could not “devote any more time to council duties than I do at present”.

“The interim period will involve complex and difficult decisions, in addition to those part of normal council business,” he said.

Meantime, in a strongly worded response, Cr Murray said he would not “add any small semblance of legitimacy to this dishonest, shambolic process”. In what he called a “heavily sanitised” answer to the Mercury, the Shellharbour Labor representative said the merger “façade has been bulls--t from the start and I do not wish to be part of it”. For councillors who wished to play a role, their reasons included a sense of civic duty and wanting to serve out a full term of council, wanting to ensure their constituents were well-represented and a desire to keep the councils from falling into the hands of administrators once again.

Liberal Michelle Blicavs believed administration would stifle momentum in “planning, economic development, footpaths and roads”, while Greens’ Jill Merrin said she hoped to keep a temporary council “balanced”, politically diverse and ensure “transparency and public involvement”.