Carmel Councilmember Jeff Baron announces he won't run for reelection after eight years in office.

Back in April, Carmel Councilmember Jeff Baron told the Weekly he was definitely not going to run for mayor in November—he ran in 2024 and lost to Mayor Dale Byrne—and he was still contemplating a third run for City Council. He even took out nomination papers on July 13.

On Tuesday, July 21, Baron announced that he is not going to run again.

"After eight years on the Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council, I've decided to take some time for myself the next couple of years and I will not be a candidate for reelection to my seat," he said. 

"As you know, the demands of this position are high and I have always taken my responsibilities seriously. There are many accomplishments of which I am proud, but recently, I have found that my defeats on issues that are important to me have started to stay with me longer than previously had been the case," he said. 

He called the "mental load" of those losses much greater than in the past.

One recent loss was over a 3-2 vote on July 7 to approve an amendment to the city's housing plan. Baron argued strenuously against the amendment, contending it would not add any more housing to the city. 

At the last moment, he asked Councilmember Hans Buder, one of the crafters of the amendment, to take a step back and make further adjustments that might convince him and Byrne to vote for it. Buder declined.

The night before, on July 6, Baron was the lone "no" vote in a decision to contribute $293,000 to See Monterey for marketing and a visitor management survey. 

For the election on Nov. 3, the two-year mayor's seat and two four-year councilmember seats will be decided on by the voters. 

Buder announced in April he was running for mayor, one week after Byrne said he would not seek a second term. So far Buder is the only candidate to take out nomination papers for the seat.

Councilmember Alissandra Dramov also said in April that she would run for a second term. She turned in her completed nomination papers on Monday, July 20. The voter signatures were verified by the Carmel City Clerk's office on the same day.

Carmel Planning Commissioner Stefan Karapetkov also turned in his nomination papers for a council seat, which were verified on Monday. 

The nomination period ends 5pm Friday, Aug. 7.

In his announcement, Baron said he didn't know if his break from Council would be temporary or permanent, or what the next few years will look like for him.

"What I do know is that I'll be watching as the issues that I care about make their way through city hall and that I'll be thinking a lot about the one issue that matters the most to me: the Carmel community and my friends and neighbors that call Carmel home," he said.