By Sean Nicholls
Acting NSW Liberal Party president Trent Zimmerman has been preselected to contest the seat of North Sydney at the December 5 byelection prompted by the resignation from Federal Parliament of former treasurer Joe Hockey.
Mr Zimmerman is a strong chance to hold the safe Liberal seat, which is on a margin of 15.9 per cent.
The Greens are set to run former Democrats MLC Arthur Chesterfield-Evans and the Christian Democratic Party has said it will contest the seat, but Labor is highly unlikely to field a candidate.
Mr Zimmerman's greatest threat could be an independent. Former independent mayor of North Sydney Genia McCaffery is understood to have been sounding out local support.
North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson - a former Liberal Party member - said on Monday night that she would consider running if she received adequate financial backing.
In a vote of about 100 preselectors at the Chatswood RSL Club, Mr Zimmerman beat rival candidate John Hart - the chief executive of industry lobby group Restaurant and Catering Australia and president of the Liberal Party fundraising body the North Sydney Forum - by 47 votes to 35.
Engineer and defence official Helen Cartledge also ran, and received two votes.
The preselection was fast-tracked by the NSW Liberal Party to get a candidate into the field this week.
But the move sparked claims it was designed to advantage Mr Zimmerman - a leading member of the dominant left faction - by limiting the opportunity for more candidates to emerge.
Under Liberal Party rules, candidates are unable to comment on the result and the party will not issue a statement until it is endorsed by the NSW state executive on Tuesday.
Mr Hockey is expected to be appointed Australia's next ambassador to the United States.