She says, "I had made up my mind to retire, but when the election law was changed to allow people over seventy to run, I decided to give it one more try."
七四高齡的許世賢堪稱嘉義政壇的常青樹，今年她第二度出馬競選嘉義市長，再度以高票當選。她可能成為台灣省地方自治史上第一位女性省轄市長，因為嘉義將在今年七月，升格為省轄市。