Three councillors elected on Saturday have said publicly they want the job - two from Wanaka and one from Queenstown.
After meeting newly elected councillors and community board members in Wanaka yesterday morning, Ms van Uden said she had no further public comment to make on the deputy mayoral race.
However, she reaffirmed her statement to the Otago Daily Times on Wednesday that she would choose ''the best person for the job''.
That leaves open the option of appointing top-polling candidate in Saturday's election, Cath Gilmour, of Queenstown, rather than one of the two Wanaka ward councillors - incumbent deputy mayor Lyal Cocks or highest-polling Wanaka councillor Calum MacLeod.
Following the 2010 election, Mrs van Uden said it was a tradition the job went to the top-polling Wanaka councillor.
After meeting Ms van Uden yesterday, Mr MacLeod said the mayor had given no indication of her thinking but said she hoped to be able to let him know today whether or not he had been successful.
Asked about the prospect the deputy mayor might be from Queenstown rather than Wanaka, Mr MacLeod said he did not think that would be ''the correct way to deal with the perceived rift'' between the two towns.
''Realistically, we've got to work together, so we will see how that unfolds.
''It's the mayor's decision, and she's a reasonably astute political beast and I'm sure she will make the right decision.''
Ms Gilmour is due to discuss the deputy mayoralty with Ms van Uden this afternoon but told the ODT this week she believed being a woman and being from Queenstown rather than Wanaka were two counts against her.
The two new members of the Wanaka Community Board are set to lock horns over who chairs the board, when it meets for the first time on November 4.
Rachel Brown and Ross McRobie have both indicated they want the job while Bryan Lloyd, who was considering making a bid, confirmed to the ODT yesterday he had decided not to.
