Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher has announced he will seek re-election next year.
Yesterday marked two years since Mr Kircher was elected mayor and he used the occasion to give his first public indication he will contest the mayoralty for a second term.
''I haven't exactly kept this secret, as I maintain the position that at least two terms is needed to make a sufficient difference in local government,'' he said.
''Three years isn't very long to make significant change.''
He said he was proud of how much the Waitaki District Council had achieved in the past two years in making positive decisions to advance the district economically and socially.
''In some ways, we've made more progress than what I might've expected at this stage,'' he said.
He was, however, very quick to acknowledge that there was still ''much more to do''.
''There are so many more things that I want to see done,'' he said.
''We still have improvements to make in areas of customer service, communication, infrastructural management and so on,'' Mr Kircher said.
The councillors and council staff had made progress in various ways in the past two years, including increasing the efficient use of rates and improving customer services and public communications, Mr Kircher said.
He said he was proud to have supported groups and projects such as Oamaru Hospital funding, introducing road safety measures for foreign drivers, facilitating Moeraki's Haven St rebuild, taking part in Oamaru District Courthouse and RSA building negotiations, dog park improvements, landscaping at Oamaru's northern entrance sign, the Phoenix Mill wheel restoration project, facilitating free firewood permits on council reserves and lighting the World War 1 cenotaph.
Some of the projects were started before his term began, he said, ''but in all cases, they are things that we have had at least a reasonable amount of input to make happen'', Mr Kircher said.
So far, no-one else has declared an intention to stand for mayor.
Yesterday, Waitaki district councillors Melanie Tavendale, Peter Garvan, Hugh Perkins, Jim Hopkins, Sally Hope (all for the Oamaru ward), Bill Kingan, Guy Percival (both for the Corriedale ward) and June Slee (Ahuriri ward) all said they intended to seek re-election next year.
Kathy Dennison, councillor for the Waihemo ward, said she had not made an official decision yet, but would ''possibly'' stand again.
Oamaru ward councillor Colin Wollstein was unable to be reached yesterday.
Waitaki Community Gardens co-ordinator Sophia Leon de la Barra (38) has already declared her intention to stand for the Oamaru ward.
