Mayor Andy Beerman on Friday said he intends to seek reelection later this year, a decision that had been expected but one that essentially launches the campaign season for Park City’s highest office a little more than a month before the formal politicking begins.

Beerman, serving his first term as the mayor after holding a seat on the Park City Council, declined to discuss the details of the platform. He said a formal announcement of the reelection bid will be made shorty. More details are expected to be released at that time.

It had seemed highly likely for months that Beerman would seek reelection. In an interview early in the year, he indicated he was leaning strongly toward another mayoral campaign. He said at the time he had the “energy and enthusiasm for another term,” but he wanted to give a campaign “some deep consideration” before making a decision.

Beerman rose to political prominence as the leader of a Main Street business group. He won a City Council seat before an unsuccessful mayoral campaign eight years ago. Beerman in 2017 captured the mayor’s office in his second campaign for the post.

He said early in the year that his platform, should he seek reelection, would “remain resident-centric.” It would focus on issues like transportation, energy, housing and equity, he said at the time. Beerman at that time also mentioned topics like the plans to develop an arts and culture district and the efforts to host a second Winter Olympics in the state.

Beerman is the first person to declare themselves a candidate for the mayor’s office. There has been little political chatter about the campaign. A primary election would be held if more than two people seek the mayor’s office to reduce the field to two for Election Day in November.

The campaign is expected to center on traditional Park City election issues like growth and traffic but also cover topics related to the pandemic, including the plans for an economic comeback.

Candidates cannot formalize a campaign until the period between June 1 and June 7, when they are required to file paperwork at City Hall.

More information about the Park City election is available on the municipal website, parkcity.org. The direct link is: parkcity.org/government/election-information.