NEWBURYPORT — Mayor John Moak will not be running for re-election, opening the door to new leadership within the city after serving two terms as mayor.

"I have made the very difficult decision not to seek another term as mayor of the city of Newburyport," Moak said in a written statement after making the announcement to department heads yesterday morning. "This has been an emotional and complex decision involving not only professional but personal considerations."

Moak's political intentions had become clouded in the past couple of weeks. In January, he announced his intention to run for a third term. But he stunned many in the city last month when he applied for a job as Winthrop town manager. He didn't get the job and then announced he was reconsidering his run for mayor.

In his statement yesterday, Moak said he realized serving another term as mayor would not be "economically viable for my family."

Moak, 60, earns $65,000 as mayor; the Winthrop job paid $125,000.

Moak's current two-year term ends in early January.

Within hours of Moak's announcement, Council President James Shanley pulled papers and confirmed he will definitely run for mayor. City Councilor Donna Holaday also said she will be pulling papers in the coming week for the mayoral race. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Moak in 2005.

"I understand the mayor's reasons as to why he has made the decision he has made," Holaday said. "I certainly enjoyed working with him over the past term, particularly in terms of fiscal and budget issues."

Holaday said she appreciates Moak's efforts to keep the city on strong financial footing going into the next mayoral term.

"He has kept us in good shape going forward for the next mayor to take over," she said.

Holaday will be the latest to pull papers for the mayoral race, along with Shanley, Department of Public Services employee Dan Sweeney and City Councilor Ed Cameron.

Moak noted while he will start searching for new employment, he will remain committed to the city until his term ends.

"It has always been my goal to provide the city of Newburyport with a firm foundation and sustainable tools for the next administration to build upon, and I will continue that course."

Shanley said the decision to run for mayor is one he had been debating for many months regardless of what Moak decided to do.

"I wanted to see what happened; it was no concern to run if John was," Shanley said. "He announced he wasn't running, and I decided it was a good time for me."

Shanley said he hopes to be an "old-fashioned mayor" and focus on "brick and mortar" while strengthening city government.

"I want to compromise when it comes to difficult decisions," Shanley said. "I've never been one to want to polarize certain groups."

Shanley, a 13-year resident of Olive Street with his wife, Karen Battles, said he will continue Moak's tradition of being fiscally conservative but hopes to be a more public mayor.

"I'm gregarious by nature," Shanley said. "The mayor of a city like Newburyport has many parts: You are public relations, human relations, management. It is quite a job."

Shanley said he will run for mayor on the platform of strengthening the Department of Public Services, providing strong leadership and preserving what makes the city unique. Shanley said after serving on the Planning and Development Committee for four years and on the council for three terms, he knows what makes the city tick and looks forward to dealing with waterfront developer Steven Karp and resolving downtown parking issues.

"I can provide a strong leadership force. I believe I have demonstrated that on the council," Shanley said.

As for his vision of where the city will go next, Shanley said he hopes to manage the completion of the waterfront to add the best value to the space, strengthen the school system within budget constraints and protect historic resources.

Shanley, who said he came to Newburyport from Stoneham in 1995 for the striped bass fishing, said there is something about Newburyport that keeps people here and he hopes to strengthen and preserve it as mayor.

"Newburyport isn't quite like any other place," Shanley said. "People are passionate about it. It gets under their skin, and people care deeply, as they should."