North Bend City Council member Chris Garcia announced at the May 3 council meeting that at the expiration of his council term Dec. 31, he would be taking a break from city government.

He hesitated briefly before saying, “I wanted everyone to know that, after a lot of thought, I will not be running for the Mayor of North Bend office, and furthermore, I will not be seeking re-election to my city council seat.”

The decision, he said by phone the next day, was based on timing.

“I just think it’s time for me to focus on my personal life a little bit. I’ve been doing this for seven years,” he said.

Garcia, who was voted Best City Councillor in the 2011 Record’s readers’ choice contest, has lived in North Bend for most of his life. “We moved here when I was 9,” he said. He attended North Bend Elementary School, and Snoqualmie Middle School, “back when it was the only middle school in the district,” he said, and graduated from Mount Si High School. For the last 12 years, he’s owned and operated a Frankie’s Pizza and Pasta franchise in North Bend.

He joined the North Bend City Council in 2002, appointed to the position vacated by Elaine Webber. He’d been planning to run for election if he hadn’t been appointed, he said.

“I just wanted to be involved, and I wasn’t necessarily excited about the direction the city was going in,” he said.

Following that term, Garcia successfully ran for re-election twice, but resigned his office in 2008. “My business was growing a lot,” he explained, and he needed to focus his energy there.

During his time on the council, he thought he did have a positive effect on the city’s direction, but said, “I feel like I did, but…that would be up to the people who vote.”

When the opportunity arose again two years later, he took it. The council needed to add two seats to represent its population increase, and he applied for an appointment.

“I missed it,” he said, “and the council members really wanted me to come back,” he said.

In January, 2010, Garcia and fellow council member Jeanne Pettersen were appointed to the council, for two-year terms. By state law, if a council position is filled by appointment, the position must be up for the next general election, so both Garcia’s and Petterson’s seats Positions 7 and 6, respectively, are expiring this year.

“It would have been exciting to stick around and see some things get done,” he said, “but it’s just time for a break. I have other things in my life that I want to accomplish.”

Although Garcia is not planning another council run this year, he is not ruling the idea out for future years. In the meantime, he says. “I’m not necessarily going to be done being involved with the city.”

Six positions on the North Bend City Council will be on the November ballot: Mayor, incumbent Ken Hearing; Position 1, incumbent Jonathan Rosen; Position 3, incumbent Dee Williamson; Position 5, incumbent David Cook; Position 6, incumbent Jeanne Pettersen; and Position 7, incumbent Chris Garcia.