Clover Moore tipped to win against Meredith Burgman

The former Upper House president will get a rails run for the ALP nomination after their first choice, Tony Pooley, announced he was pulling out of the race.

Deputy Mayor Pooley is understood to have felt he would be unable to combine the Lord Mayor's role with his existing job - a key criticism of Ms Moore's decision to serve both as MP for Sydney and Lord Mayor.

However, the move also comes amid internal party polling showing Labor will almost certainly be trounced by Ms Moore and may even lose one of its existing seats.

While Ms Burgman would always have stood a better chance of defeating Ms Moore, it is believed Labor hoped to avoid a high-profile catfight it was certain to lose.

However, the battle lines have now been drawn, with Ms Burgman expected to make herself available to the party today and be nominated unopposed.

Ms Burgman was already in campaign mode last night, telling The Daily Telegraph: "Tony's view that he just can't do it and have another job is the reason I'm standing against Clover. It's not a part-time job."

Source: www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23799459-5001021,00.html