Charleston City Councilman Andy Richardson announced his run for mayor Wednesday.
Richardson, a Democrat serving his second term as an at-large council member, announced his run at a campaign event at Celebration Station on Charleston's East End in front of dozens of community members. Signs displayed at the event proclaimed his mayoral bid, with the slogan "From Charleston, For Charleston."
The location of the announcement was important for Richardson. As a member of Christ Church United Methodist, he was among the volunteers who came together to help build the Celebration Station playground from the ground up in 1994.
Nowadays, he sees the city as a prime destination for technology, especially for jobs like coding, which can be done anywhere. He said high-paying jobs will lead to more people moving to the city and help overcome the city's population loss.
"We've got to make commonsense, strategic decisions that create a culture of ideas to attract people of all ages of life," Richardson said.
His announcement comes after months of exploring a mayoral run. He filed for precandidacy in March, forming a campaign committee called "Friends of Andy Richardson."
Richardson was a member of former Gov. Gaston Caperton's Cabinet for eight years, serving as the state's first commissioner of the West Virginia Bureau of Employment Programs.
He's now senior vice president of HealthSmart Casualty Claims Solutions. Richardson also teaches a course on West Virginia government and politics at West Virginia University in the fall.
He will face Amy Shuler Goodwin, former West Virginia Division of Tourism commissioner, in the Democratic primary in May.
Richardson was not the only person to make an announcement related to the mayoral race Wednesday.
JB Akers, Charleston's city clerk, said in an interview that he was planning to file his pre-candidacy paperwork for the race later in the day. Akers, a Republican, said the pre-candidacy filing doesn't necessarily mean he's running for mayor - he said he's still weighing his options.
"If I do announce a run, it will be within the coming months," Akers said.
West Virginia state code requires that possible candidates for public office register a campaign committee to accept campaign contributions.
The filing comes after Mayor Danny Jones endorsed Akers for mayor in a Facebook post in November. Akers is the first Republican to file pre-candidacy paperwork for the race.
Andy Backus, a political newcomer, also has announced his run for mayor, as an independent.
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @SchmitzMedia on Twitter.