page_title: Political life of Clint Eastwood
section_title: Elected Mayor of Carmel
hierarchical_section_title: Political life of Clint Eastwood / Political office and commissions / Elected Mayor of Carmel
caption_attribution_description: Take Pride Spokesman Clint Eastwood
context_page_description: American actor and director Clint Eastwood has long shown an interest in politics. He won election as the nonpartisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in April 1986 and in 2001, Governor Gray Davis appointed the Oscar-winner to the California State Park and Recreation Commission. Eastwood endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election and delivered a prime time address at the 2012 Republican National Convention, where he delivered a speech addressed to an empty chair representing Barack Obama. He announced in February 2020 his endorsement of Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential election, before Bloomberg suspended his campaign.
context_section_description: Eastwood made a successful foray into elected politics. He won election as mayor in April 1986 of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (population 4,000), a wealthy small town and artists' community on the Monterey Peninsula. During his single two-year term, Eastwood supported small business interests while advocating environmental protection and constructing a library annex, along with public restrooms, beach walkways, and a tourists' parking lot. In addition to making overnight campfires illegal on Carmel Beach, he also sought to overturn the "ice cream cone law," an ordinance that restricted the sale of fast-food, including ice cream cones.
  He was a spokesman for Take Pride in America, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior which advocates taking responsibility for natural, cultural, and historic resources.
caption: Take Pride in America Spokesman Eastwood in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
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