Cr Doug Hall declined to comment.
Veteran councillor Chris Staynes said his "inkling" was not to stand again.
He had known some politicians in the past to declare themselves out, before eventually opting in.
Cr Mike Lord was unavailable for comment at the weekend.
Candidate nominations open on July 15.
The councillors who have declared they will stand again are Carmen Houlahan, Sophie Barker, Jules Radich, Steve Walker, Andrew Whiley, Lee Vandervis and deputy mayor Christine Garey.
Crs Houlahan, Radich and Vandervis will also challenge Aaron Hawkins for the mayoralty.
Cr Barker said she was undecided about the mayoralty.
Cr Jim O’Malley said he would probably stand for council again, but not the mayoralty.
He doubted he could work with Mr Hawkins, should the mayor be re-elected.
Cr O’Malley volunteered that, of the mayoralty candidates declared so far, he could work with Cr Radich.
Cr Rachel Elder said she was still deciding about standing for council and Cr David Benson-Pope said he was giving it "active consideration".
Cr Benson-Pope ruled himself out of the mayoralty, because "we have a good one of those".
Cr Marie Laufiso, who was endorsed by the Green Party alongside Mr Hawkins in the 2019 campaign, could not be reached for comment.
Cr Walker said he sensed October’s election would be a battle between progressive and "less progressive" factions.
Several councillors praised Mr Hawkins for the job he was doing.
"We are extremely lucky at this juncture to have one of the smartest, competent and most capable mayors in Aotearoa and I can think of no reason to run against him," Cr Walker said.
Cr Garey said Mr Hawkins remained the right person to lead the city.
"Aaron is a person of great integrity, hard working, super smart, a strategic thinker, well experienced in the local government sector and extremely articulate," she said.
Cr Staynes said Mr Hawkins chaired meetings well.
By contrast, Cr Vandervis said a course correction was required to "bring back democracy, instead of party-political agendas" that threatened to dismantle the one-way traffic system in the central city, end Dunedin’s control of its Three Waters infrastructure and push council group debt beyond $1.2billion in 2025.
Cr Whiley said he supported Cr Radich for mayor as part of the Team Dunedin ticket.
Cr Houlahan is also on the Team Dunedin ticket.
Cr Whiley said the highway system and parking were among the key issues.
Cr Barker said her first term was a steep learning curve that should help equip her for the next term.
She wanted to see greater recognition of Dunedin as New Zealand’s "first city", featuring valuable heritage, and said it had to face up to waste management challenges and look after its environment.
