NATCHEZ — Natchez Mayor Larry L. “Butch” Brown said Thursday evening he would not run for re-election.

When his term ends in June, Brown will mark nearly a quarter century in public service to the City of Natchez and the State of Mississippi.

He was elected mayor in back-to-back terms starting in 1992 and was appointed executive director for the Mississippi Department of Transportation in 2002, a position he held until 2011. He was re-elected mayor of Natchez the following year.

Brown qualified in January to run for re-election this May; the qualification period closed Thursday.

Brown said despite his decision to leave the public spotlight, his love for the City of Natchez would never end.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, laughing. “I’m going to be a loud mouth in Natchez for the rest of my life.”

Brown said a combination of recent health woes — cancer a few years ago, a heart attack and stroke last year — have caused him to pause and reconsider his priorities.

“I decided about 4:30 this afternoon,” he said. “My son Larry and his wife Mattie have just had a beautiful new baby named Larry Lynn Brown III, by the way,” he said. “It makes you think. We love our grandchildren.

“If I’m going to have things going on around me,” he said referencing his ongoing physical rehabilitation after the stroke, “I’d rather it be with my grandchildren than with the board of aldermen.”

Brown said the stroke he suffered in December 2015 was a factor in his decision.

“I fully intended to run and would be if I hadn’t had the stroke,” he said. “I’m steadily improving every day, but still have some issues facing me.

“I don’t know how I could be fair to the people who have confidence in me and have given me money for the campaign while I’m trying to also do rehab.”

Brown said his family is happy with his decision.

“When I mentioned it, my wife leaped on me and said, ‘This is what I’ve been trying to tell you all along,’” he said.

Brown said he and his wife plan to do some traveling after he leaves office, but mostly he plans to put his family first.

“I’ve decided that this hasn’t been so bad, being around my family and friends, all day long while I’ve been trying to rehabilitate myself,” he said.

“We’ve had a really good run,” he said. “It’s been gratifying, and I’ve loved every minute of it,

“If I had one thing on my wish list, I would hope our board becomes more diplomatic, gets a better use of its time in government and moves forward as a group.”

“You sit back and think about what you’ve been doing for over half your life, and I’ve been working for the people of Natchez,” he said. “I hope that history is good to me.”