Caulfield, elected to the town board in 2009, publicly stated her intentions to run for mayor during Tuesday night’s meeting of the North Mecklenburg Republican Women’. She will seek the seat held by second-term mayor Jill Swain.

“I had not planned on making that statement last night,” Caulfield said Wednesday morning. “I had planned on putting together a press release with a formal announcement, but last night I decided to stand up, go ahead and take the opportunity while it was there.”

Caulfield said she had been weighing her decision for several weeks.

“I have been considering running for mayor for about a month,” she said. “I did not make this decision based on one particular issue,.”

In a prepared statement issued later Wednesday, she said her decision was not based on anything negative toward Swain.

“I just happen to be applying for the same job that she will be applying for, should she decide to run again,” Caulfield wrote. “I have a different vision of what my role as mayor would be and how I could use that position to help make government more accessible to the people.”

Caulfield added that she met several times with various residents before finalizing her decision.

“I hope to have the same supporters that I had behind me when I ran for commissioner,” she said, “and hopefully many new ones.”

Caulfield’s decision adds more intrigue to this fall’s municipal elections in Huntersville. Her decision means at least three of the six town board seats will be up for grabs this fall.