Atherton Mayor Jim Janz announced Monday, Aug. 4, that he does not plan to run for a third term on the City Council in the November election. Here's the full text of his announcement, sent to local media:

"Mayor Janz Elects Not to Seek Third Term on Atherton Town Council

"James R. Janz, completing his second term on the Atherton Town Council this year, announced today that he would not seek re-election to a third term in November.

"Janz is currently serving as Mayor, a position which he also held in 2003. He previously served for ten years on the Atherton Planning Commission, including three years as Chair of the Planning Commission and the General Plan Committee.

"Janz said: "By the end of my term as Mayor, I will have devoted 18 years of my life to Atherton, including ten years on the Planning Commission and eight years on the Council. I have other priorities I want to focus on now, and I feel it's time to allow others the opportunity to make a contribution to the Town.

"'My service to the Town has been a wonderful, educational, and rewarding experience, and I can only wish equal satisfaction to my successors.

"'I assume that Jerry Carlson, the Vice-Mayor, will step into my position next year, and I am confident that he, along with our new and very qualified City Manager, Jerry Gruber, will do a terrific job. I'm leaving the Town in good hands.

"'Public service is very rewarding, but it's also very time-consuming. My family and my work are going to take priority for the next few years. I will miss many of the wonderful friends and acquaintances I've made over the years, but I'm not leaving Town. I'll still be around and hope to stay involved in public issues to the extent I can.'

"Janz cited a number of accomplishments over the past year, including the hiring of the new City Manager and the settlement of three major lawsuits involving the Town.

"'But,' he said, 'many major issues remain that will need to be dealt with over the next few years, including the impact of possible change in use of the Caltrain corridor, the need to upgrade the Town's staff facilities, the opportunity to incorporate some adjacent areas that could have a positive net impact on the Town's finances and allow the Town to comply with state housing requirements, and the need to otherwise locate new sources of revenue for the Town so the continuing burden of raising parcel tax funds can become a thing of the past.

"'The Town needs to preserve its heritage, but also needs to look to the future. Given our location on a Peninsula which is becoming more developed, we can no longer ignore the outside pressures on our Town. There will be change, and the challenge going forward for the Town is to make sure those changes happen on our terms, not on someone else's.'

"Mr. Janz is a real estate and land use attorney, and is a partner with the San Francisco law firm of Sideman & Bancroft LLP. Mr. Janz is an 22-year resident of Atherton, and lives in Lloyden Park, with his wife, Kathy, his daughter Elizabeth, a senior at UC Santa Cruz, and his son William, a senior at M-A High School."