At Cr van Zetten's announcement on Sunday, August 7, Cr van Zetten said current deputy mayor Danny Gibson would be "obviously suitable" for the role as mayor.

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Cr Gibson said he would make his own announcement at a later date and he was "considering his options and very interested."

At this stage the only confirmed councillor to run for the mayoral role for City of Launceston is Cr Alan Harris.

Cr Harris said he would run for the mayoral role and had intended to whether Cr van Zetten was running or it was someone else. Cr Harris ran against Cr van Zetten in the 2018 local government elections.

Cr Tim Walker, who ran for City of Launceston mayor in the 2018 election said he will be making his announcement closer to the nomination period.

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Cr Andrea Dawkins and Cr Krista Preece said they will not be running for the mayoral role.

Cr Dawkins confirmed she will be running for deputy mayor and said she hoped this election will attract a diverse range of contenders.

Cr Preece said she will announce whether she will run for deputy mayor soon.

Cr Rob Soward, who is on leave, said he will make an announcement when he returns on whether he will run for mayor or deputy mayor.

Another councillor who will not be running for the mayoral position is Cr Paul Spencer.

Cr Spencer said the role of mayor was a lot to take and he was still working full time for himself and had family commitments.

He will also make an announcement later regarding whether he will run as a councillor.

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Cr Jim Cox said he will not be running for mayor or deputy mayor, he said he believed it was time for new blood to come forward and take on these roles.

Cr Karina Stojansek said she will not be running for mayor or deputy mayor.

Cr Hugh McKenzie who has been on City of Launceston council since 2011 and said he would make an announcement on whether he will run for mayor or deputy mayor soon.

Cr Nick Daking will have one term under his belt having been elected in 2018, Cr Daking did not respond to The Examiners query.

Many councillors who said they are not running for the mayoral role said it was due to the sizeable commitment of the role.

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It was during his announcement on Sunday, where Cr van Zetten said being able to take leave as a councillor impacted his decision.

""One thing I've never had in my life - and I'm well over 60 - is long-service leave, and in this role, even when you're on leave, you don't really get a break from the public or the media, so I'm going to have some time away to do what I want to do, spend time with my family, and enjoy myself," he said.

No members of the public have made their running intentions known.

Candidate nominations open on Monday September 5.

Voting will be compulsory for this election for the first time, since changes were made earlier this year.

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