Documents released to the Otago Daily Times under the Official Information Act showed an email exchange between Cr Crackett, Mr Clark and Cr Lesley Soper in May, after Cr Crackett told the newspaper she was given a sexist nickname and had experienced inappropriate behaviour since being elected.
Mr Clark said her comments caused "anger" to male and female councillors and gave her options she did not feel comfortable about and declined.
In the email, he said her comments included phrases such as "that happens to me all the time, like on an almost daily basis", and "every day a woman in a predominantly older typically male-dominated role, you’re already fighting for credibility and you’re also fighting against sexism".
Affected councillors then suggested two ways for her to deal with the "unjustified criticism of the wider group", he said.
The first was to clarify the comments in the newspaper article were not towards the current councillors, and the second to discuss her concerns with two female colleagues, Crs Trish Boyle and Lesley Soper.
"I respect that," Mr Clark said in a return email.
"This leaves me concerned that the only way I can resolve your concerns, that you raised publicly, is by the way of a more formal third-party process or activated by a colleague code of conduct complaint."
He then added the appointments he made at the beginning of the term were based on skill, not gender or age.
The next day, Cr Crackett forwarded Mr Clark’s email to Cr Soper.
"Please keep it confidential.
"Just wanting to ensure someone else is in the loop of what I’m being forced to respond to."
To which Cr Soper replied: "You should not feel bullied to make a decision you are not comfortable with."
When approached for comment this week about if she felt threatened or pressured by the mayor, Cr Crackett initially said she would not comment.
"The email speaks for itself."
Mr Clark said earlier this week he was not aware of any code of conduct complaint against Cr Crackett or triggered by her and believed the matter had been resolved.
"If she makes allegations that she can’t back up, people might take it [the comments]. I’m not gonna take them — I couldn’t care less [about the] comments she’s made but people get annoyed when you may blame the statement ... I don’t see any evidence of that," Mr Clark said.
"So when I emailed her, I asked her to consider how she recovers that position, I guess."
Responding to those comments yesterday, Cr Crackett told the Otago Daily Times said she would not be "forced" into laying a complaint against anyone.
"I shared my personal experiences to highlight that this behaviour still happens, not to go on an individual witch hunt."
She was pleased fellow councillors supported her remit to Local Government New Zealand which aims to investigate a safe, impartial place for people who share these same experiences to seek assistance in the future.
"My intention was never to target or single out any specific individual.
"Instead, I wanted to shed light on a pervasive problem that affects not only local governments, but many industries in our society."
Cr Soper was approached for comment but was unable to reply by deadline.
