Encinitas Councilmember Joy Lyndes, the only remaining member of the once Democratic majority on the council, announced Tuesday that she will not seek re-election this fall.

“I’ve fought for our residents to protect our quality of life while honoring the diversity that makes Encinitas special …. I’ve led with equal commitment to preservation and thoughtful improvement. So, it’s only after much reflection, and some sadness, that I’ve made the hard decision not to seek re-election,” Lyndes said in a prepared statement.

Reached by telephone Tuesday morning, Lyndes said she was not planning at this time to run for any other elected position, and added that she was simply planning to take “a bit of a break” when her current council term ends in December.

“I tell my friends that I’m going to take a gap year — I never got one when I was 20,” she joked.

A landscape architect who helped create the city’s annual, car-free, Cyclovia bicycling event, Lyndes spent six years on the city’s Environmental Commission before she became a council member. She was initially appointed to the council to fill out the term of Jody Hubbard, who died of lung cancer in 2020.

Lyndes went on to win election in 2022 to a four-year council term and represents the city’s District 3, which primarily covers the Cardiff region.

Items she said she’s proud of supporting or initiating while on the council include the creation of the city’s sustainability manager position, the approval of the city’s “gold-standard” Climate Action Plan, the acquisition of the Surfer’s Point property for preservation purposes, the renovation of the former Pacific View School property into a city arts center, and the launching of the Buena Vista Navigation Center and the Safe Parking Program to help homeless people.

Lyndes also has long been active in native habitat restoration efforts, including supporting city ordinances to protect trees and promote native plant use, and she helped create the city’s bans on plastics and Styrofoam.

In 2025, she faced many challenges, including the death of her husband. She took a two-month leave of absence to help care for him after he was diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer, then returned to her council activities after his death in late March.

The early part of 2025 was also a period of significant change in city leadership. In the November 2024 elections, the city’s then-mayor and one of the council members who regularly voted with Lyndes both lost their races. A third council member who also often voted with Lyndes didn’t seek re-election. All three of them had been backed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, while Reform California — a group that declares on its web site that it’s “dedicated to taking back our state from far-left politicians and special interests” — supported the new majority on the council. In the months since, the council has selected a new city manager and city attorney, and launched new initiatives regarding housing construction, roadway design and homelessness.