Mayor Laura Cabott says her announcement that she will not run for re-election in October was no spur-of-the-moment decision.

She made her choice public on Wednesday afternoon.

Cabott, who has been on council for six years, told The Yukon Star this morning she had been mulling the decision for several months.

She had actually wanted to announce it earlier this year, but took time to thoroughly review her choice.

Her introspection intensified when she hit the three-year anniversary of her decision to run for mayor, Cabott said.

She added she felt there were other goals and projects she wanted to pursue rather than run for office again.

Cabott has been serving on several committees and boards outside of her municipal duties.

Some of them are related to her lengthy career as a lawyer, including a position with a national organization.

The mayor is planning on doing more of that work and expanding upon it.

She has retained her licence to practise as a lawyer, but has no immediate plans to return to the profession.

As for politics at another level, Cabott said she’s not too interested at this time, although she isn’t “closing the door.”

Cabott said she wouldn’t be surprised if some current members of council were looking at the suddenly wide-open election for mayor and weighing their prospects.

She knows of “a few people” outside of council who are interested in the job, and she wishes them well.

“I’m looking forward to seeing who comes forward,” Cabott said. She added she won’t miss the grind of campaigning again.

Ted Laking, one of the councillors possibly mulling a mayoral run, was quick to respond to Cabott’s announcement.

“I want to thank Laura Cabott for her six years of municipal public service to our community,” he said today. “Laura served as mayor during one of the most challenging periods in Whitehorse’s history as we dealt with several significant and unanticipated issues such as the Robert Service Way slide, the imminent failure of the Takhini trunk line, which provides wastewater services to a large portion of the city, as well as the early failure of the crosstown water main.

“During all this, Laura was a steady and calm hand whose logical approach to issues helped our community navigate these challenging times,” added Laking, who recently ended his single term as the president of the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC).

“Our community will also see some long-term benefits to the lobbying efforts of Laura to get disaster mitigation funding from the federal government to help address the issues along Robert Service Way.”

Laking had additional praise for Cabott.

“During my time as president of the AYC, Laura was there to provide support in pushing the territorial government to finally begin negotiations on the Comprehensive Municipal Grant. Her contributions and efforts will lead to a more sustainable Whitehorse.”

He didn’t always have the warmest relationship with Cabott, Laking acknowledged.

“On a personal level, I always appreciated Laura’s intelligence, insights, and advice during our many spirited discussions and debates.”