Arroyo Grande councilman says he won’t run for re-election — this year

The Arroyo Grande City Council is guaranteed to have two new faces on it by the end of this year.

Councilman Tim Brown confirmed Thursday that he will not run for re-election this year, becoming the second current council member to choose to forgo a bid when their seat comes up for election in November. Councilwoman Barbara Harmon announced similar plans in July.

”I needed to take a break from local politics, as it has gotten far too partisan at council level,” Brown wrote in an email to The Tribune.

Brown has served on the City Council since 2010. He declined to share his achievements while on the board, saying that was “for others to determine.”

He might not be off the political scene for too long though; Brown said he would consider running again in two years.

His decision this year will leave the field wide open for any of the four candidates who have announced bids for the council so far: planning commissioners Terry Fowler-Payne and John Mack, retired San Luis Obispo police officer Keith Storton and former supervisor candidate Jimmy Paulding have all thrown their hats into the ring.

Mayor Jim Hill and Councilwoman Caren Ray have also both announced they will run for mayor.

The field could still get bigger for the council race: Since both incumbents for council have chosen to not run, the deadline to file paperwork to run for election in Arroyo Grande is extended from Friday to Aug. 15 by 5 p.m.

This story was originally published August 9, 2018 at 5:20 PM.