Cr Gladding said it was time for her to move on.
‘‘The level of negativity I would probably bring to it [if re-elected] and the level of suspicion and disappointment, and all of that stuff that hangs around, even if you work hard to get rid of it, it’s still there in the background.
‘‘And I don’t think it’s helpful, so I think I’m kind of obligated to move on.
‘‘At the moment I’m so sort of stale I don’t feel like I can do a good job, so I need to let someone else get in there and have a go.
‘‘I think elected members and staff need to recognise when they’re stale, and move on.’’
Asked if she thought a new mayor and change of councillors would make a difference, she said ‘‘You just can’t be sure of what the mix is going to look like.’’
Mayor Glyn Lewers was standing again, she noted, ‘‘and the two of us should never be on the same council ever again’’.
‘‘If you can anticipate there’s a scenario where it might turn to custard, then you probably shouldn’t put your hand up.’’
Cr Gladding says she loved her first three years under former mayor Jim Boult.
‘‘I didn’t mind the conflict - it just kind of energised me, but recently it hasn’t so much. I’ve missed having Niamh [Shaw] on council. She was great.’’
Cr Gladding was 80% sure she would stand for the Otago Regional Council.
‘‘My background’s in science and my interests are water and healthy soil and all of those things, and now the kids are older ... it just seems like a logical next step if I’m not done with local government, and I don’t feel like I’m quite done.’’
Planning was also a big interest.
As to why she was not standing for mayor, Cr Gladding said it was just not her skill-set.
‘‘I always steer away from the chair because I’ve got lots to say - and I like to think in meetings, and I couldn’t be disruptive.
‘‘And my wardrobe’s pretty limited in my ability to get out and about.
‘‘I’m a bit of a hermit ... I’m more of a ‘figure out the detail stuff’ behind-the-scenes [type].’’
She would be endorsing another top-of-the-lake resident, John Glover - Mr Lewers’ first declared rival for mayor.
‘‘I think John’s a brilliant candidate.
‘‘People will say he’s stood for council three times and not got in. I think now’s his time to give that [mayoral] role a crack and I think he’d be just bloody good at it and better than people realise.’’
If Cr Gladding were to be elected to the regional council she would be just the second Wakatipu representative in 31 years.
Its first representative, Alexa Forbes, herself a former local councillor, is standing down in October.
