Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis said she will not seek re-election at the end of her term this year.
"I look forward to the many challenges we will face together in 2023," Lewis said during her State of the City speech. "However I am announcing tonight I will not be seeking re-election to the position of mayor in 2024."
The announcement appeared to surprise some council members.
Lewis, a Democrat, had just won her bid to officially finish out the final year of former mayor Svante Myrick’s term.
Prior to the election, Lewis served as acting mayor after Myrick stepped down last February.
In her State of the City address, Lewis described her time leading the city as challenging. At times, she saw pushback from both progressive and centrist council members.
Lewis also lost some of Ithaca’s Democratic vote in November’s election to third-party progressive candidate Katie Sims.
When Lewis leaves office at the end of 2023, the role of mayor will also change. In November, voters approved a plan to create a new “city manager” position, who will take over many of the administrative duties of the mayor.