He’s back in business – or politics, it seems.
Richard Bailey, the former Coronado mayor who recently said he had “no desire” to get back into politics once he left office, has announced that he is running for City Council – in San Diego.
In a video post on Instagram last week, Bailey said: “If you want to see a nonpartisan, policy-focused, back-to-basics approach for local government … then I’m asking you to sign up at richardbailey.com to pledge your support.”
Bailey served two consecutive terms as the youngest mayor of Coronado, ending his leadership in November 2024 when he did not seek re-election. City Council member John Duncan won the mayoral race that year.
“I never intended to run for office after leaving Coronado,” Bailey explained to The Coronado News, but he said he was approached by several people across the political spectrum who “were concerned about the direction of the city and wanted a different leadership.”
Bailey (who is a member of The Coronado News’ editorial board, which operates independently of the paper’s news coverage) said he wanted to keep an open mind, but had other priorities at the time, like continuing his mountaineering hobbies and summiting Mount Vinson in Antarctica.
However while pursuing other goals, he launched a social media campaign on city governance and led tours that focused on “Policy Over Politics” in San Diego.
While he told The Coronado News in December that he had no plans to run anytime soon, Bailey discussed what he calls “common sense policies” on issues such as taxation, city services and budgets during his tours.
The former mayor said he saw a desire for more policy-focused conversation as opposed to the “performative political theatre we regularly see.”
It seems nearly everyone is disappointed with the current direction of the city of San Diego, so I hope to provide much needed balance and perspective.
Richard Bailey
“It seems nearly everyone is disappointed with the current direction of the city of San Diego, so I hope to provide much needed balance and perspective,” Bailey said.
Pushing for nonpartisanship
Bailey moved from Coronado to Point Loma in 2025 and started building his social media presence, reaching over 24,000 followers in just several months and focusing on nonpartisanship.
In a recent interview with the Voice of San Diego, Bailey said he re-registered as of Feb. 19, listing no party affiliation. In the interview, Bailey declined to express opinions on the Trump administration because he is focused on local issues. However, his declination included comment on policies that affect San Diego, such as immigration raids, border tariffs and offshore oil drilling.
“I think the partisanship of politics is exhausting, and also just a very unproductive way to live your life, if your self-identity is tied up in your party affiliation,” Bailey said.
Bailey ran for Congress as a Republican in 2022 but did not appear on the ballot for the primary in June 2022.
In 2020 and 2021, Bailey donated to the Republican Party of San Diego County, and in 2024 he contributed to a few Republican congressional candidates, according to the Federal Election Commission.
“I decided to launch a campaign based on commonsense policies,” Bailey told The Coronado News.
