FIRST OFF . . .

It’s not official yet, but His Honor Clint Eastwood, mayor of Carmel, Calif., has indicated for the first time that he plans to seek re-election. “I probably will run again,” Eastwood said last week. “I haven’t even thought about it that much.” Eastwood has made some friends in the scenic Northern California town--last December he ended a long-simmering controversy over development of the 66-acre Mission Ranch by buying the property himself for $5 million--but some enemies as well. “What we have here is a world figure who deigns to be part of our lives once a month at the council meetings,” said Jim Holliday of the Carmel Neighbors Assn. “What we need is a small-town mayor who will be there to listen to our concerns.” Countered Councilwoman Elinor Laiola, elected on an unofficial slate with Eastwood: “He’s really gotten things moving . . . there’s an air of revitalization in our community.”