Only hours into an election year, Victoria's mayor announced she'll be seeking another term.

Lisa Helps wasted little time announcing her intentions to run again in the 2018 municipal election this October.

"It's worth it. Victoria is an amazing place, we all know that," Helps told a room full of reporters at city hall Monday. "We've got a real opportunity in the next four years to build on the work that we've done over the past three and into this year."

But Helps emphasized that with 10 months left until the election, she's not in campaign mode just yet.

"The job of mayor is a really big job, as you can imagine, and it's that job that I'm going to be focused on right up until the next election," she said, adding she expects to officially kick off her campaign sometime in summer.

"I'm excited, I will be out in the community just as I was last time, building a platform alongside the community."

Political experts said the announcement mirrors Helps' tactic in the 2014 election, in which she edged out incumbent mayor Dean Fortin by fewer than 100 votes.

"She came out early. It clearly proved as a smart move for her. She had to get out there, did a lot of door-to-door for months and months ahead of everybody else," said UVic political scientist Michael Prince.

Just as she inherited the over-budget and delayed Johnson Street Bridge project from the previous administration, Helps may have a similar political thorn in her side come election time this year: bike lanes.

The mayor has been the face of the multi-million dollar project to develop a network of bike lane infrastructure in Victoria, but the results have proved polarizing.

Political experts think that the issue could hamper Helps in October.

"That could be a real knock against her, and it's something physical, concrete that people could talk around," said Prince.

But Helps said the lanes were a big move that will eventually pay off.

"I know it takes patience, but I think when we look to the future we want to have a city that is livable for everybody," she said.

Her announcement has sparked early opposition in Victoria from a group known as NewCouncil.ca, which is counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds until election day.

Members are actively searching for candidates to oppose Helps and other councillors.

"Sadly I find our city is more polarized than it's ever been," said Shellie Gudgeon, a former Victoria councillor herself. "What we've seen is people being shut out of the conversation because you're either with us or against us, is sort of the narrative from the mayor, and I think that we're better than that in the City of Victoria."

Helps isn't the only mayoral candidate on the island to announce her intention to run again.

Richard Atwell also says he'll be running in Saanich again – and he's predicting a shake-up on council.

"I think it has been a little bit sleepy in Saanich in the past, and I don't think the status quo is satisfying people anymore," Atwell said.

Municipal elections across B.C. are scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 20 this year.

No other candidates have come forward yet to challenge Helps' or Atwell's bids for re-election.