Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown has announced that she will not be running for the mayoralty again.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says she will be leaving the capital city in good shape when her six years in charge come to an end in October.

After 20 years on Wellington City Council - six of those as mayor - Wade-Brown, 60, announced she was pulling out of the mayoral race on Friday.

"I'm ready to move on," she said.

MONIQUE FORD/FAIRFAX NZ Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown has announced she will be exiting politics after October's election.

"I am very proud of what I have achieved as mayor, with Wellingtonians, councillors and staff, over the past six years and I'm confident that I leave office with further significant projects set up for a supportive mayor and council to complete."

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She made it clear she would not seek any local government position at October's election, scotching speculation she might run for a regional council seat.

"When I hang up the mayoral robe and chains for the last time, I will begin a third career with a number of different portfolios."

Wade-Brown said she had been accepted into a local English language teaching course that starts in late September.

She also planned to embark on several personal and business projects in 2017, including walking Te Araroa from Cape Reinga to Bluff. She had also been asked to be on several boards, including the International Walk21 Foundation.

Her six years as mayor would be defined by the breadth of her interests and the variety of projects her council had completed, she said.

Wade-Brown pointed to the establishment of a regional economic development agency and a new airline route to Singapore and Canberra as evidence of the city's economy being in good shape.

1 of 9 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown has announced she will not seek re-election in October. 2 of 9 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown will not seek re-election in October. 3 of 9 ROBERT KITCHIN/FAIRFAX NZ Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown on the controversial cycleway in Island Bay. 4 of 9 SUPPLIED Celia Wade-Brown with NZ Pop-Up Sauna's founder and director Sam Seiniger, left, and co-director Mike Handley. 5 of 9 KEVIN STENT/FAIRFAX NZ Celia Wade-Brown and police area commander Chris Scahill with the Town Hall key which was returned after being stolen from the Museum of Wellington City and Sea. 6 of 9 MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Celia Wade-Brown wearing a pake (traditional cape) at a fashion show. 7 of 9 PHIL REID/FAIRFAX NZ Celia Wade-Brown, left, welcomes United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, to Wellington in 2010. 8 of 9 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Cycling mayor Celia Wade-Brown with new electric bike which she used to get around her official duties. Phil Reed looks after her bike and helmet. 9 of 9 KEVIN STENT/FAIRFAX NZ Wade-Brown with the Sonic Well in Lower Cuba St.

"As a progressive politician, I have led local government in New Zealand with the staged implementation of a living wage for all council staff, council-controlled organisation employees, security and cleaning contractors."

Wade-Brown ousted former mayor Kerry Prendergast by a razor-thin margin in 2010 on the back of promises to push for a light rail network for the city that never eventuated.

She joked that it would have been nice to ride a tram to her press conference on Friday. But she believed Wellington was still "in a far better place" today when it came to transport, with light rail still on the "medium-term" agenda.

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Wade-Brown arrived at her press conference on her bike, as always.

As mayor, she famously refused to support the New Zealand Transport Agency's plans for a highway flyover just north of the Basin Reserve cricket ground, designed to solve the central city's rush hour congestion.

That project failed to get resource consent from an independent board of inquiry in 2015, leaving many of Wellington's big transport projects - such as a second Mt Victoria Tunnel and a Bus Rapid Transit network - in limbo.

Wade-Brown said she had no regrets about her stance on the $90 million flyover, pointing out that both local and central government were now working together on Wellington's transport needs rather than scrapping over a highway overpass.

She acknowledged there had been some divisive opinions around the council table while she was at the head of it. But she believed "most councillors were mostly on the same page" during her reign.

"I've been inclusive of all elected members. I am heartened that I leave the mayoralty with the city in good shape."

When it came to personal highlights, Wade-Brown pointed to her meeting with Hillary Clinton in 2010 - when she famously cycled out to the airport to greet the United States secretary of state - as well as attending The Hobbit movie premiere in 2012.

She thanked all of those who supported her along the way.

"It's not easy, but once you get in it's a lot of fun, and a tremendous amount of work," she said. "I step down with both the capital and myself in good heart."

time to thank Celia Wade Brown for her long service to Wgtn. She may not have always been popular but she stood by her principles. — Anne Cornish (@AcornatLarge) August 4, 2016

Wade-Brown served as a southern ward councillor from 1994 to 1998 before taking a break. She returned as a city councillor from 2001 until she claimed the mayoral chains in 2010.

She was not prepared to endorse any of the remaining eight Wellington mayoral candidates at this stage.

COUNCILLORS REACT

Deputy mayor and mayoral candidate Justin Lester said he "respected" anyone prepared to stand up and represent their community.

"Celia has worked hard over the last 20 years, firstly, as a southern ward councillor and then as mayor," he said. "I didn't always agree with her decisions, but I could never fault her integrity and commitment to the job.

I don't really have an opinion about Celia Wade-Brown's time in office. That either shows how effective she was, or the opposite. — Todd Atticus (@ToddAtticus) August 4, 2016

Porirua mayor and Wellington mayoral candidate Nick Leggett said he was not surprised to learn Wade-Brown would be going.

"She saw there was a significant section of the community who were not going to support her," he said. "She is driven by conviction, she won't be too unhappy to look somewhere else to use her skills wherever."

Leggett said it was too early to judge her legacy, but said he had enjoyed working alongside her as Porirua mayor.

"On a personal level I have always worked constructively with her. She has left a mark on Wellington."

Wellington mayoral candidate and city councillor Nicola Young said support for Wade-Brown had been waning in recent months.

"When I have been out door knocking it was increasingly clear Wellingtonians were not supporting her," Young said.

"She has done her best. She meant well." Her legacy would be the Island Bay cycleway and micro-chipping cats.

Mayoral candidate and city councillor Jo Coughlan said she and Wade-Brown had always managed to work in a collegial way, even when they did not agree on the direction the city needed to take.

"I've always valued her input around the council table," Coughlan said. "I wish Celia all the best with her future endeavours, and look forward to working with her in the future should the opportunity arise."

Fellow councillor and mayoral candidate Andy Foster said Wade-Brown told him on Thursday she would be pulling out of the race.



"I would imagine that it is somewhat of a weight off her shoulders. I would think it's a tough job and she's worn a whole lot of opprobrium, on a whole range of issues."



But she could look back on what she had done with the city, and feel she had contributed enormously, he said.

Veteren city councillor and mayoral candidate Helene Ritchie said it was the "appropriate decision" for Wade-Brown to stand down.

"She's brought an intelligence to council … that's the plus. There are some minuses [with Celia] but nobody in this job has the whole [skill set]."

Mayoral candidate Keith Johnson said Wade-Brown made a positive contribution and the city was in her debt. "She has put environmental and ecological issues on the map and we should be really grateful and thankful for that.

"The council has primarily been run for businesses and she's had to cope with a lot of pressure from capitalists, property developers and the hospitality industry. "But in the midst of all that she was able to ensure we value the resources we use."

CYCLEWAY STAIN ON LEGACY

Wade-Brown's resignation would be good news for many of those living in her home suburb of Island Bay, local resident's association president Vicki Greco said.

Wade-Brown's support for the controversial Island Bay cycleway, which her council eventually voted to construct, had put her at loggerheads with locals in Island Bay, Greco said

"Sadly for her it's a bad legacy in Island Bay, we are still sorting out the mess. Her going will make it easier to sort this out properly. It will take a lot of angst from people as they know she is not there making those decisions."

It was no surprise Wade-Brown had fallen on her sword, Greco said.

"I think the writing has been on the wall for a while. She would have been very silly to stand.

"The cycleway was such a waste of rate payers money. She is still seen very unfavourably by a large amount of the community.

"I just think it is sad, she could have done so much for her own community and she hasn't."

Councillor Paul Eagle, who led criticism of the Island Bay cycleway, said Wade-Brown's legacy would be one full of 'could haves'.

"The light rail, the Basin Reserve and also the [Island Bay] cycleway ... it won't be a legacy of what she has done, but what she could have done."

Eagle said being mayor was often too much of a challenge for Wade-Brown.

"She was a great councillor. But it was as if she was in the Hurricanes and then went on to become captain of the All Blacks - it was a step too far.

Wade-Brown had done the right thing in standing down, he said. "She has been brave."