Mayor Randy Rowse drops out of upcoming mayoral election and will finish current term

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Mayor Randy Rowse announced Monday that he will not be seeking reelection and will finish the remainder of his current term as Mayor of Santa Barbara.

According to a statement shared with Your News Channel Monday, Mayor Rowse shared:

It has been a pleasure and a great honor to serve the people of Santa Barbara over a nearly 14 year career on Council. While I’m proud of much we have done and mindful of how much there is ahead, I have made the decision to finish my career at the end of this term. My reasons are strictly personal and are not related to any issue or individual, it's just my time to move on. I will continue to focus on my office and now can do so without the distraction of running and maintaining a campaign simultaneously. I truly love this city and have enjoyed the opportunity afforded to me. I’m not going anywhere and plan to be engaged in city issues and events in the future.

With Mayor Rowse's departure, the race to be the next Mayor of Santa Barbara comes down to City Councilmembers Eric Friedman (District 5) and Kristin Sneddon (District 4) who are the only two candidates to file campaign finance paperwork for the now-open race confirmed the Santa Barbara City Clerk's Office Monday.

Interested candidates have until this summer to decide and file paperwork with the City Clerk's Office in order to make the ballot.