By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Current City Council member Steve Powell, incumbent Mayor Don Murphy and former fire chief Gary Waters have announced their plans to run for Pelham’s mayor seat.

July 3-17 is the filing period for those running in the municipal election.

Powell, who was elected to the City Council in 2008, said he has lived in Pelham since 1975, and graduated from Pelham High School in 1980. He previously served as a fireman and was the city’s fire marshal.

Powell said he decided to run for the mayor’s seat after “several people approached (him) and asked (him) to run.” Powell has set up a campaign website at Stevepowell.info.

“There were three things that I had to believe before I decided to run. It had to be God’s will that I run, I’ve got to search my motives and make sure they’re in the best interest of Pelham and I had to believe that I could make a difference,” Powell said.

Powell said, if elected, he would like to implement “strategic departmental reviews” to prioritize funding of each city department, and said he would work to market the city’s “unique” offerings.