Grover Beach citizens will choose the first directly elected mayor in the city’s history when they go to the polls in November, but whether current Mayor John Shoals will seek election at this point is unknown.

“I have not made a decision regarding the upcoming election,” Shoals said Thursday, adding he expects to make a decision in two or three weeks.

Technically, Shoals would not be seeking re-election since he was not directly elected but assumed the post as a councilman through a rotational system that now combines seniority and the number of votes received.

The terms of three City Council members — Steve Lieberman, Karen Bright and Chuck Ashton — also will expire this year.

Lieberman is termed-out and can’t run for re-election to his council seat. However, under California law, he could seek election to the post of mayor, as mayoral and council terms are counted separately if the officeholders are separately elected.

But Lieberman said Friday that’s not going to happen.

“I really need to spend some time at home,” Lieberman said, noting his son is in junior high school. “It’s amazing how much time you spend away from home on city business. I’m going home.

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“I think in eight years we’ve accomplished some great stuff,” he added. “I’m sure I’ll be involved in some way, maybe with a nonprofit or something, that will benefit the city.”

Ashton said although he intends to run, it won’t be for re-election. Instead, he plans to run for mayor and pulled his papers at 11 a.m. July 14, the first day of the nomination period.

“As you know, some of my former colleagues decided they didn’t want me to be mayor, so instead of the normal rotation that was used for many, many years, they voted to change the process and made it retroactive,” Ashton said. “... They made it impossible for me to serve as mayor.”

Ashton said his goal will be to increase the city’s sales tax revenue by bringing in more businesses and making the city more business-friendly.

“I think I have something to contribute to the city and I can be more effective as mayor,” Ashton said.

“I think I’ve got an excellent chance (of being elected),” he added. “I’ve got a lot of people out there on the streets that support me, and that’s what counts.”

Bright said she has been thinking about running for her council seat for a long time and has decided to do so because she believes she can contribute to the future of the city.

“I think I can help the city move forward in the direction the city wants to move in,” she said. “I just think we’re going in a positive direction, and I’d like to see that continue.”

Technically, Bright is another who will not be seeking re-election because she was not elected but was appointed to the council in May 2007 to fill the remaining 21 months of Larry Versaw’s term.

Versaw, first elected to the council in 2004, resigned after he and his wife, former Planning Commissioner Arlene Morris-Versaw, moved out of the city.

Bright also was on the Planning Commission when she was appointed to the council on a 4-1 vote, with Ashton dissenting.

July 21, 2008