7 for Mayor @ Unley

The Mayor of Unley, Lachlan Clyne, has taken paid leave for 3 months whilst he campaigns as the Liberal candidate for the State seat of Badcoe (formerly Ashford).
His stated intention is to resign as Mayor in January 2018.
That will leave Unley for a period of 8-9 months without a Mayor elected by the people.
The expectation is that Council will elect a stand-in Mayor to captain the good ship Unley. With due respect to whoever gets the gig, we will effectively be leaderless and at times (I suspect) with a broken rudder. With Council elections approaching in late 2018, there normally are some associated disruptions to the smooth functioning of Council which will aggravate the situation.

The Council meeting in January or February 2018 should be a real doozie.
From chats with some Councillors, I have it on very good authority that there will probably be seven (7) Councillors who will nominate to become the stand-in Mayor. Six (6) are definite starters.
I suspect that our current voting system may not determine the best outcome.
I would like to see a Papal election system where-by low scorers are knocked out in early votes. It would help to give the winner more authority and respect from her/his peers.
But can it happen? No, not without a change to policy that governs voting. Will it happen? No.

Good luck 'chaps'.

ps No, I won't name the probable contenders. I was given the information in confidence.