A little over a month after declaring candidacy for Long Beach’s new 5th City Council district, Rich Dines said Monday that he’s suspending his campaign to pursue a “dream business opportunity.”

In an interview, Dines said that he was under an agreement that wouldn’t allow him to discuss the nature of his new business opportunity, but it was one he “couldn’t pass up.” Getting out now will allow voters to better evaluate other candidates, Dines said.

“I just cannot do a campaign and do this commitment and run full time,” Dines said. “There’s just not enough hours.”

Dines said he was confident in his campaign and had already started to walk the district to speak with neighbors and started initial fundraising before making the decision to bow out of the race.

He was one of three candidates that had declared candidacy for the soon-to-be vacant seat that opened up when the city’s redistricting process drew incumbent City Councilwoman Stacy Mungo Flanigan out of the new 5th City Council district. Megan Kerr, a current LBUSD Board of Education member, and political consultant, Ian Patton, are the other candidates in the race.

As a former Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioner with union ties, Dines could have been a force in the race. Kerr has already received a handful of high-profile endorsements from the local Democratic establishment including Mayor Robert Garcia, state Sen. Lena Gonzalez and some of her colleagues on the Board of Education.

Dines, who said he was endorsing Councilwoman Suzie Price for mayor earlier Monday,  said he is unlikely to endorse in the 5th District race.

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