Mr Clark was ready to retire from his role as deputy mayor to Sir Tim Shadbolt, as it was taking a toll on his physical and mental health.
"I had no vision to be mayor because it is not in my nature and, in fact, I was quite happy to retire.
"I was feeling quite frustrated — sometimes quite depressed — as we could not get things done.
"But I knew council needed some energy and I was convinced to try to put a team together and get some new people on [council] — and that we did."
While he joked the move might not have been the smartest choice for his personal life, he believed it was what the city needed.
He was honest when asked if he thought the job was harder or easier than he expected.
"I thought it might be harder.
"There is a lot of bureaucracy in an institution like this, but I was able to break this down a bit ... I think we are getting somewhere."
He believed his work was easier than expected thanks to the efforts and dedication of staff and the elected members.
Now, about two months after the election, Mr Clark felt proud of and pleased by their achievements so far which included an accelerated plan to deliver the Southland Museum & Art Gallery — closed since 2018 due to earthquake risks — earlier than previously planned, a new governance structure and a more engaged council.
Mr Clark said he felt most proud of the relationship between elected members.
"The biggest thing for me was to build and to lead the team I know people were very scared about.
"They thought ‘this guy is going to come and it will be Nobby's way or the bloody highway’, because I had led organisations that way in the past.
"But I worked really hard to embrace others and I believe everybody is working really well together, and hard, to keep this momentum."
He believed the positive feeling was also felt by staff who were "feeling proud" about what they had achieved.
He said this mood would be paramount in facing the challenges of next year.
While he was getting ready to take a holiday during the Christmas break, Mr Clark said conversations about the next long-term and annual plan started a long time ago — actually, in the days after the election.
"[It is] no secret that the senior staff advised me two days after the election that we will face a 20%-plus rate increase.
"So council will need to make some serious and very hard decisions in the first months of the year."
While he believed next year could be one of the most challenging the Invercargill City Council faced, he believed it was a time for opportunities with the city centre’s new developments.
He wanted to make the city centre more attractive for people to spend time there.
The South Sea Spray event this month was a great example of things that can be done in a great way, Mr Clark said.
"Our city is looking tired so we need to bring it back up to speed.
"We need to keep our expenditure as low as it can be, but at the same time doing many exciting things for our community."
And that is all Mayor Clark wants for Christmas — a vibrant Invercargill.
