LYNN — Ward 2 City Councilor Rick Starbard announced that he will not run for re-election this year, wrapping up his six-year career at City Hall and a 26-year career as a public servant in Lynn.
In the last paragraph of his January newsletter, published Sunday, Starbard wrote that he planned to step away to spend time with his family and focus on his business, Rick’s Auto Collision Repair.
“After deep consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking re-election to the city council. I think that it is time to take a step back and spend more time with family and friends while focusing more on my business,” Starbard wrote.
Starbard was elected to the City Council in 2016 after six years serving on the school committee and 14 years teaching auto collision repair at Lynn Tech.
In an interview Monday afternoon, Starbard said that he made the final decision not to run for re-election after watching Revere’s Ward 6 City Councilor Richard Serino announce his resignation at a meeting in December.
“He [Serino] said he just wanted to give people the time and opportunity over the holidays to discuss things with their families, whether or not they think it may work for them. He felt like he’d done his part, and decided it was time to step back. That’s when I decided, ‘You know what, nomination papers are coming out in March, and I don’t think I’m going to do it again.’ ”
Starbard said that he decided to run for City Council to bring a business perspective to City Hall. He said that he was proud of his work on the Pickering Middle School Building Committee, as well as on expanding the commercial tax base to help the city recover from the pandemic’s financial toll.
“Schools have always been a focus of mine, as well as trying to grow the commercial tax base, which is, you know, something that I’d like to see more of, and I know that the mayor is committed to it. We’ve done a lot of good things navigating through tough financial times a few years back,” Starbard said.
Over the summer, the city teamed up with the local nonprofit Beyond Walls to install new playground equipment in the park using Kaboom grant funding. Starbard said that before he leaves office in November, he wants to finish the reconstruction project by installing multipurpose play areas and basketball courts at Cook Street Park.
“The process has been started, but I’d like to get the funding locked down to finish that up. I’d love to see that finish before I leave, because it’s something I’ve been trying to get done since I took office,” Starbard said. “I always viewed that park up there as one of the most unique in the city, and it serves a population of people up there on the hill that don’t always have the means to get down to Kiley Park and some of the other parks in the city.”
Starbard said that he was grateful for the people he worked with and served throughout his public career in Lynn.
“The city staff has been amazing,” Starbard said. “One of the brightest spots was making so many friends of both constituents and people that I served with over the years that I wouldn’t have made otherwise. When I say ‘friends,’ I mean, friends — they’re not acquaintances. I found a lot of great relationships through those years.”
