Gavin Buckley’s break from politics didn’t last long.

Just months after completing eight years as mayor of Annapolis, Buckley has filed to run for Anne Arundel County Council.

Buckley, the swaggering Aussie restaurateur-turned-politico, is running in the Democratic primary to represent District 6, which includes Annapolis and surrounding areas bounded by the Severn and South rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

“I want to continue the amazing work that we’ve all done, together. I want to focus on the environment and resiliency,” Buckley, 63, said in a video announcing his candidacy.

Buckley joins Joe Toolan and Dominik Prokop in the primary. No Republicans had filed to run as of Feb. 17. Toolan has a career in environmental policy and served as chair of Annapolis Pride. Prokop is a longtime business owner in the county.

Buckley said he probably agrees with Toolan on “99%” of issues, so any debates between them would be “really boring.” He said he was not familiar with Prokop.

Lisa Rodvien, the current council member, is not seeking reelection.

Rodvien said she did not plan to endorse in the primary, saying she didn’t want to put her “thumb on the scale.”

Buckley briefly considered running for the open county executive seat — Steuart Pittman, the incumbent Democrat, is term-limited. Pittman is also the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.

But going from mayor to county executive, Buckley said, would have been too much on his family.

“It’s a family decision,” Buckley said. “This was a good middle-of-the-road way to keep involved.”

The district has been solidly Democratic in recent years. In 2022, Rodvien beat former Annapolis Mayor Mike Pantelides, winning 55% of the vote. In 2018, she was elected with nearly 60% of the vote.

If Buckley wins, he will be the first Annapolis mayor in recent years to go on to another office. Ellen Moyer, who was the first woman to be mayor of Annapolis, briefly entered the race for a City Council seat but did not ultimately run in the primary.

Buckley had relatively broad support in his eight years as mayor, including winning reelection with more than 72% of the vote in 2021. And though his administration was at times controversial — from the short-lived establishment of a bike lane on Main Street to Buckley “deputizing” his own boat — he said in November last year that he didn’t think he’d go back and do anything differently.

The former mayor said he’s also going to be using the county’s public campaign financing. The program allows candidates for council and county executive to receive some matching funds for donations not larger than $250.

“I feel good about that. It’s a great option,” Buckley said.

He’s holding a campaign kickoff Tuesday evening at Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge, one of the Annapolis restaurants he owns.