California mayor says God told him to leave politics

Mayor Larry Guidi

Politics is not a field for the faint of heart. Just ask Larry Guidi, the mayor of Hawthorne, Calif. He has experienced a gunman shooting into his home in retaliation for opposing a proposal, investigations and a close political ally turning against him.

Now, after 18 years in office, Guidi told the Contra Costa Times that he's being led to do something else:

'I'm leaving on top. God spoke to me, and he is going to choose my path, and it's not to be in politics,' he said. 'Now it's sinking in to people that the big, bad mayor isn't going to be here to make the tough decisions. This will be Hawthorne's second-most important election in 20 years.'

Best wishes to Mayor Guidi on the next phase of his life.