At number three on the ticket, the nine-person council would have to include three councillors from the Labor team for Cr Keenan to get a look in.

"Theoretically, I could still be elected, its highly unlikely but it's within the realms of possibility and I would be absolutely delighted if there were the three of us there, I think that would be fantastic," Cr Keenan said, referring to fellow Labor candidates Councillor Dan Hayes, number one on the ticket, and Amelia Parkins who is number two.

Of her decision to take a back seat after one term, Cr Keenan said she was ready to pass on the baton.

"For me, it was about having that one term and giving it everything I've got but also recognising I've been here for five years and that's a long time in anybody's life and I've had a lot of significant things happen in the last five years," she said.

During her term, Cr Keenan was one of many Riverina residents touched by the 2020 bushfires. She pushed through a controversial but successful declaration of climate emergency and also famously clashed with councillor Paul Funnell who she accused of harassment and who in return accused her of a smear campaign earlier this year.

She said she is now ready to support new candidate Amelia Parkins to be elected in a move she hopes will bring a fresh perspective to the council.

"I'm also really conscious of supporting someone else to come in and share their ideas and their enthusiasm for making it a better place for the community," Cr Keenan said. "It's not about someone replacing me, it's about someone else having an opportunity."

Of her time on council, Cr Keenan said she is most proud of her work installing family rooms in council facilities, where earlier families and breast feeding mothers had to share a multi-purpose room that doubled as a table tennis room and prayer room in Council Chambers.

Much has been said of the role of party politics in the last term on council, but the Labor councillor said criticism is misguided and candidates associated with a political party are no more political than independents.

"Whether people like it or not, politics are a part of local government, it's just that we're transparent about it," Cr Keenan said.

Some candidates, including Councillor Tim Koschel, accused Crs Keenan and Hayes of prioritising their party's agenda over community interest when the climate emergency declaration was tabled in 2019 but Cr Keenan denied the Labor party has oversight of the Wagga Labor candidates' decisions.

"There is no direct oversight of what we're doing here because it's aligned with what's going on and what we generally stand for," she said.

"I've always said that as a Labor candidate ... people are going to have an understanding of my values and what I bring to the table. Anyone else is just a name, and [voters] will be taking a punt.

"Just because someone says they're independent doesn't mean their values will align with your own."

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