Clint Eastwood won the nonpartisan mayor’s race in April 1986 and served for two years, declining to run again. The job paid $200 a month, which he donated to the Carmel Youth Center.
His term is remembered for small practical things: according to his biography, he helped make it legal to eat ice cream on city streets, got public restrooms added to the beach and saw a library annex built.
In 1986 he also bought Mission Ranch, just south of the city, rescuing it from a condominium development. He restored the old buildings, and the property now operates as a hotel and restaurant.