The day after he resigned from his position as mayor of San Carlos, Andy Klein said he is content, focused and looking forward to returning to private life.
"I'm really happy with my decision," Klein said today. "I was never a career politician."
In a letter of resignation filed Wednesday with the city clerk's office, Klein cited "major setbacks" in his personal life that he said made it impossible to continue on as a public servant.
Klein, who was elected to a four-year term on the council in 2009, acknowledged that his issues with alcohol contributed to his decision to step down, but said that was not the key factor.
"It's been one of many issues in my personal life," he said. "People want to focus on that, but it's not the primary issue."
Klein said that the dissolution of his marriage and the overtime hours that the job of mayor requires factored into his decision.
"Because of my commitment to the city, I put that first before myself, and my personal life suffered," he said.
Klein, a San Carlos native, said he is looking forward to redirecting his life, and will focus on health, family, friends and his job in commercial real estate.
"I've gone back to being a private citizen," he said. "I've been able to watch a Giants game for the first time in a long time."
City Councilman Matt Grocott will become San Carlos' interim mayor until the council addresses the vacancy left by Klein's resignation, according to the city manager's office.
Despite an arrest by the California Highway Patrol for driving while under the influence, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office later declined to file charges, saying tests taken at the time of the arrest showed Klein's blood-alcohol content at .07 percent, below the legal limit.
Klein was selected as mayor by his council colleagues in June after former Mayor Omar Ahmad died of a heart attack on May 10.
