Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore, with her dogs Buster and Bessie in Sydney Park, is keen for another term in office. Credit:Janie Barrett "To try to remember everything we've done over the last 12 years, and everything we're going to do, is like sitting for an exam," she says. And in a way, she's about to. More than three decades after the former teacher first ran for what was then South Sydney Council, Moore is again standing to lead Sydney's Town Hall. Her legacy Her three lord mayoral terms have helped to reshape Sydney and cemented her place as one of its most influential public figures. But one change Clover Moore is yet to envisage is a city without Clover Moore herself.

"I've had 24 years in parliament, and I've had 12 years as mayor and six years previously in council and that's been my life but, you know, I feel my work's not done yet," she says. Clover Moore campaigning for a spot on South Sydney Council on election day, 1980. Credit:Heidi Herbert Protecting the city's progressive record and achievements – and with it, her legacy - factor in her decision. Moore says these would be at risk if she were to leave office in September. "I want to make sure that when I do decide to retire, that I've got a succession plan in place that would ensure that the city would continue to have strong, independent, community-based leadership," she says. "And I don't feel that's the case now." Alderman Clover Moore in her early council days.

Questions about whether she plans to address the succession issue through her council ticket are tersely deflected – wait until the team is announced in July, she says. Her opponents In the meantime, watch the battlelines emerge: Moore, campaigning to build on her record and act as a bulwark against unsympathetic state policies like the "vandalism" of WestConnex, opposed to those arguing a fourth Moore term would constrain an increasingly global city with old ideas. "I think after 12 years of [Moore] being the lord mayor, communities and businesses tell me that they're concerned that she doesn't have a vision for the future, and that her focus is about defending battles of the past," says Labor councillor Linda Scott. For instance, Scott – a lord mayoral hopeful – wants the city to abandon its scaled back and delayed commitment to trigeneration in favour of more cost-efficient renewable energy options; Moore maintains that, in the face of state and federal government obstacles, the project has still been a "great success".

Another likely contender, Christine Forster, a Liberal councillor and sister of former prime minister Tony Abbott, suggests a Liberal mayor would be better placed to work "in partnership" with other levels of government. "Sydney needs a lord mayor who understands that we are truly a global city," says Forster, "not just a cluster of villages." Moore is in turn scathing of the two major parties, which she says have long viewed the city as "something they could use" and beholden to their affiliations with Macquarie Street. "I'm sure the members of the old parties will say it's time for generational change," she says. "They want the city back. "And what do they want it for? Do they want to do the same job I've been doing, and put the interests of the city first? I don't think so."

Her plans for the city For all the talkback and tabloid scorn Moore's policies and community focus have drawn, her priorities still strongly resonate with an electorate that skews young and progressive. A brand built around ideas such as better urban design, bike paths, small bars and sustainability saw her returned with a mayoral vote of more than 50 per cent in 2008 and 2012. "Criticism is fine and change is fine, but for what reason?" says Moore, who turned 70 last year. "We've got progressive policies that we've achieved and progressive policies for the future. If that's what people want, well, they'll have a choice." In a fourth term, Moore proposes updating the city's Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan, the city's guiding strategic document, following a new round of public consultation and research.

The city would also set new renewable energy targets for 2021, construct almost 10 kilometres of new bike paths and lobby to expand a development levy to boost the supply of affordable housing. In terms of urban development, Moore's focus remains on the city's multimillion-dollar investment in Green Square, which she describes as "a model of how you can do density in a global city and it can work". "Green Square's a huge challenge and I think we're doing it well, and I don't want that to be derailed either," she says. Moore, a vehement critic of Barangaroo where "we see decisions made behind closed doors", expresses concern about the handling of other major urban redevelopment precincts, like that slated for the Central to Eveleigh corridor. "UrbanGrowth is meant to be consulting closely with the city and they're not," says Moore, following a council report this week asserting the state government's property development arm is working towards a density of 70,000 people per kilometre.

The analysis is disputed by UrbanGrowth, which won't release a breakdown of its own figures. Moore maintains council staff have deduced the agency's target is almost four times that of Green Square's 22,000 people per kilometre and would be "absolutely off the air". "What worries me about UrbanGrowth is that they work these plans up and then they go to cabinet," says Moore. Plans that appear to take in parts of Sydney overseen by the council, she adds. "They'll have one hell of a fight on their hands, because we will defend the city." Her outsider status The fight will be on for Moore, too. Voting changes that give businesses two votes for every one from residents – "another ploy to get rid of me" – could chip away at her valuable council majority.

The new rules come just a term after the dual-role legislation, dubbed the "get Clover" laws, forced Moore from her state seat of Sydney after she was returned to Town Hall. The change meant she lost her easy access to the ministers of Macquarie Street. But Moore is accustomed to being the outsider. In a speech delivered this week, she recalled walking into South Sydney Council as Redfern's first non-Labor alderman in 1980 as "like stepping into a Hogarth painting". "It was a closed shop." There's a downside of this enduring status as an outsider, and it seemed stark when it took Moore 18 months to secure her first formal meeting with the new Premier, Mike Baird.

"My attitude has always been I wanted to work with governments," says Moore, who adds that when they don't "you look at other things you can do". The state government has come around on some points, such as adopting the city's long-advocated policy for light rail down George Street. And it is working with the city to build bike paths on Castlereagh and Liverpool streets, despite a fractious relationship with Roads Minister Duncan Gay – a problem Moore puts down to "having a regressive minister and a progressive mayor". "I don't know why Duncan Gay's not a fan," Moore says, listing changes to his home suburb of Redfern – including that vastly improved park. "He's got car share near his place and he's got a bike lane. He should be down there swimming at the Prince Alfred Park pool.

"He should be a very happy person."