Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Ms Alley said while it was a challenging time to be in local government, there was plenty to be excited about.
"There are some big decisions that this council will be making over the coming months and I want people to know that I'm happy to be accountable for those decisions into the future as well."
A former police constable and a second-term councillor, Ms Alley was appointed mayor by Central Otago District councillors in October, following the resignation of Tim Cadogan, who left within a year of the local body elections so there would be no need for an election to fill his role.
Ms Alley said she loved working for the community, and it was important the mayor could lead a "strong and cohesive team".
"If you're a mayor who's just there on your one agenda or to champion one cause or you're not interested in working collaboratively, I think it's going to be very difficult to succeed in local government.
"What I bring is a really strong team dynamic."
Ms Alley said her campaign would focus on long-term water and waste-water solutions and diversifying the council’s income stream to be less reliant on rates.
"I'm wanting to work on ... innovative housing solutions, recognising that there's a lot of housing challenges in our area, including opportunities to partner with private providers.
"So I'll be looking at some wins in that."
Mr Cadogan ran unopposed in the 2022 elections and while Ms Alley understood she was the first to announce her campaign for mayor, she did not expect to be the last.
"I think it's good for democracy for people to have a choice."
Candidate nominations close in August and local elections will be on October 11.
