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Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel announced her re-election campaign via Facebook Thursday afternoon, thanking the 30 people who signed her nomination paperwork while happily boasting, “First one to get my paperwork in.”

Reached by phone this morning, Bergel offered a characteristically cheery explanation for her decision to seek another term.

“You may not know this about me, but I love Eureka,” she said. “I love our community. I love its challenges and all. And I love that our community steps up for each other. That’s one of the things that I really appreciate.”

It’s been nearly a dozen years since Bergel was first elected to City Hall in a nail-bitingly close race, beating incumbent Mike Newman by just 46 votes (50.1% to 49.4%). Four years later, following a redrawing of the city’s ward map and implementation of a “true ward” election system, Bergel won re-election by a much wider margin. 

In 2022, having termed out as a city councilmember, Bergel ran an unsuccessful campaign for county supervisor, losing the Fourth District seat to Natalie Arroyo in a three-way race. She quickly dusted herself off and handily won the November municipal election to become mayor of Eureka.

Asked what she’d like to accomplish in a second mayoral term, Bergel said she plans to continue the mental health initiative she launched in 2023 as well as charting some new waters.

“We’re an innovative city, and we’re looking at ways to better our city all the time,” she said. “And in the last 12 years, the work that has happened in our city is phenomenal. It’s something that doesn’t happen in a lot of places. I’m talking about with the CSET [Community Safety Engagement] Team, with the CARE [Crisis Alternative Response Eureka] team, with the Uplift team, and all of these opportunities that are lifting people up who in the past have been marginalized.”

She also mentioned partnering with the business community and local organizations to foster positive change. And while she acknowledged that challenges certainly remain, Bergel said, “I believe that Eureka is having a renaissance, as [local artist and organizer] Jenna Catsos said years ago, and I believe we’re right there.”

The nomination period for candidates interested in challenging Bergel for mayor or running for Eureka City Council have until Aug. 7 to get their paperwork in. More details here. The General Election will be held on Nov. 3.