Dan Tallon, a member of the Iowa Army National Guard, announced on Tuesday he will no longer run for City Council.

“It’s not that I ‘dropped out’ of the race — I just decided not run,” he said Tallon.

The University of Iowa student was stationed in Afghanistan when he announced his decision to run for District C in the city election last spring. Tallon ran for a seat in 2009 but lost in the general election.

With his added experience and identification with Iowa City, Tallon said, he believed he would be the perfect candidate. He planned on focusing his campaign on alcohol and its effect on the local youth and providing affordable-housing options in every area of the city.

Although he planned on starting his campaign in Iowa City this fall upon his return from his deployment in Afghanistan, he said, his return was ultimately the reason he decided not to run.

“The transition from getting back from Afghanistan and the return to school is too time-consuming,” said Tallon. “I want to focus on graduating first and then on running for election.”

He said he still plans on staying as involved as possible and will work for the election of candidates with beliefs similar to his.

“I hope that affordable housing and issues related to low-income residents becomes the focus of the election and the council agenda,” Tallon said.

— by Jenny Earl