Norwich — Mayor Deberey Hinchey announced Wednesday that she will not seek a second four-year term in office this fall and plans to return to her career as a clinical social worker or pursue new opportunities in the economic development field.

Hinchey, 64, the city's first female mayor, informed City Hall staff of her decision Wednesday and will discuss it with the Democratic Town Committee at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. She said she informed her staff because she has started to seek employment positions to start after she completes her term.

Hinchey said her decision was not based on last week's finding by the city Ethics Commission that she and four Norwich Public Utilities officials violated the city ethics code by participating in a lavish trip to the Kentucky Derby last May, hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative. Hinchey said, however, that the controversy did make her long for a private life again.

“It helped me to identify where my priorities are,” Hinchey said in an interview in her office Wednesday morning. “It made me realize no matter what I do, I'm still the mayor. I don't have the luxury of being a private citizen.”

The city Ethics Commission found last week that all five city officials violated the city's ethics code and recommended Hinchey reimburse the city $1,932.50 — 25 percent of the estimated $7,730 per person cost of the trip after deducting $50 for the allowed gift limit for city officials.

Hinchey said she accepts the Ethics Commission's ruling and will abide by whatever sanctions are approved by the City Council when it acts on the commission's recommendations.

“I accept those findings,” Hinchey said. “I'm not the kind of person who is bitter or blames other people. I went. I'll pay the consequences.”

The FBI also is investigating CMEEC, its member public utilities and the city of Norwich for undisclosed reasons.

Two potential mayoral candidates emerged in the aftermath of Hinchey's announcement Wednesday. Former Republican Mayor Peter Nystrom, defeated by Hinchey in a three-way race in 2013, said he will decide whether to run in about two weeks. Democratic Alderman and retired Norwich businessman H. Tucker Braddock also said Wednesday he is considering running for mayor.

Nystrom said he has worked well with Hinchey over the years, including the four years when their roles were reversed, with Nystrom as mayor and Hinchey as an alderwoman. He welcomed her support for the $3.3 million downtown revitalization bond, for example. Nystrom also approved of Hinchey's comments accepting responsibility for the Kentucky Derby trip and the proposed reimbursement.

Aside from the Kentucky Derby controversy, Hinchey's first three-plus years in office have been eventful with ups and downs.

She received statewide acclaim from leading Democrats after defeating incumbent Nystrom in 2013 to win election as the city's first female mayor and quickly became involved in state political policymaking positions, serving on a panel by the Connecticut Council of Municipalities to propose property tax reforms and on the executive committee of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.

She launched tours of Norwich businesses, highlighting them in a blog posted on the city website, and enlisted several city department staff to take close-up tours of blighted or otherwise troubled city neighborhoods, targeting them for improvements.

One year into her term, Hinchey and the then-Democratic majority on the City Council forced former City Manager Alan Bergren to resign, citing a desire for a more decisive, proactive city administrator. NPU General Manager John Bilda, who also has since become embroiled in the Kentucky Derby controversy, took over as interim city manager for a full year before current City Manager John Salomone was selected.

Then came the tumultuous 2015 mid-term election, when city Republicans, including Nystrom, won a 5-2 majority on the City Council, a 5-4 majority on the Board of Education and captured the elected city treasurer position for the first time since the Reagan years. Republicans ran on a combination platform of lowering taxes and keeping the city's often contentious dual property tax system of paid and volunteer fire districts.

Hinchey said that election was very disappointing to her, but she said she has developed working relationships with Republicans on the City Council and has tried to improve relations between the council and the city's public school system.

“It was very different for the city,” Hinchey said of the 2015 election. “Their main focus was cutting expenses. They campaigned on lowering taxes, and they weren't able to do that. They tried awful hard.”

Hinchey praised the Republican newcomers on the City Council for their hard work and devoted research to every issue. She thanked Republican Stacy Gould for accompanying her and for filling in for her at numerous city events and functions.

But she remains disappointed that her push to eliminate the dual property tax system in the city failed amid heated opposition from volunteer fire departments and supporters. Hinchey again said she considers enacting a single property tax — residents and businesses in the central city pay an additional 7.84 mills in property taxes to cover the paid Norwich Fire Department — “would have helped enormously in getting the downtown going.”

Along with the disappointments of her term, Hinchey pointed out several highlights.

She traveled repeatedly to Hartford and successfully lobbied for approval of housing, environmental cleanup and economic development grants to New Jersey developer Onekey LLC for a $30 million renovation of the giant Ponemah Mill No. 1 building into 116 apartments. Construction is underway on that project as the developer seeks another $23 million for 121 units planned in the second phase of the project.

Norwich also has received $770,000 in state grants for a joint project with the Mohegan tribe to create a heritage park at the historic Uncas Leap area of the Yantic River. A public information meeting will be held March 1 to discuss those plans.

Hinchey credits her decision to devote full time to the mayor's position, which pays $45,000 by charter, for the successes and pledged to continue that for the remainder of her term, which will end when the new City Council and mayor take office the first week in December.

“I'm here,” Hinchey said. “People have access to me, whether positive or negative. I can participate in CCM and go to Hartford. We have an open door policy here. I'm really proud of Norwich being a part of the state system. It wasn't before. It has paid off with the grants we've gotten.”

c.bessette@theday.com