Lancaster Mayor Won’t Run Again

Lancaster Mayor Lynn Harrison announced Wednesday that she will not run for a third City Council term in the April city elections because she plans to take a full-time job in the private sector and wants to spend more time with her family.

Harrison’s decision a day before the filing deadline creates a second potential open seat in the elections for three council posts. The election promises to be crowded and center on issues related to the city’s explosive growth in recent years.

Among the other incumbents, Councilman Els Groves has said he would not run for reelection. Councilman Arnie Rodio has filed papers to run for a third term.

Council members choose a new mayor from among themselves each year. Harrison, a housewife who recently earned a license as a real estate broker, was first elected to the council in 1982 and reelected in 1986.

“I am at a crossroads,” said Harrison. “I have carefully weighed my personal needs and my family’s needs in the balance with further public service. . . . I’ve decided not to seek reelection at this time.”

Harrison, 40, a mother of two, said that after a divorce more than a year ago it became apparent that she needed to weigh the part-time council job against the need for full-time work. She said she has received job offers in real estate and as an office manager.

Harrison said she felt she would have had a good chance at reelection. But several homeowner activists said she would have faced stiff challenges along with other incumbents because of dissatisfaction among voters with traffic, school crowding and other issues blamed on the city’s rapid growth.