Ironton Councilwoman Beth Rist will not run for mayor, she announced Monday.

Rist picked up a petition to run in the November election, but wrote in a prepared statement that she did not intend to file because of her pending legal battle with the City of Ironton.

Rist is a former police officer who was terminated after falsifying a traffic ticket. She has a pending civil rights lawsuit against the city.

“Due to my litigation with the city, I find it inappropriate to run for mayor at this time,” the statement reads.

“When I run, I want to focus all of my energy helping the citizens of Ironton. After continuing to serve on city council, I am sure I will be much more experienced to run.

“I am giving my full support to Mr. Bob Cleary. He stood by me with the arbitrator’s ruling, now I am standing by him. Good luck, Bob.”

Cleary, a city councilman and former mayor, filed his petition to run Monday.

“Beth dropping out of mayor’s race comes as a surprise to me,” Cleary said. “I really expected her to file. I did stand up for the arbitrator’s ruling on Beth. The ruling is supposed to be final according to the FOP contract.

“I am appreciative of her supporting my race for mayor.”