You heard it here first. Linda Cropp, current chair of the D.C. City Council, is running for mayor.

Well, let’s be honest. We heard it first from NBC 4’s ace political reporter Tom Sherwood, but you may be hearing it first from us. So if Cropp does finally jump in the race, give us the credit, if she doesn’t, blame Sherwood.

But seriously, Sherwood reports that Cropp, above, has set her sights on the city’s top job. All that’s missing is a big announcement party full of family and fanfare. As DCist has recently noted, Cropp’s decision to go for broke may well provoke some interesting dynamics amongst other candidates. Current mayoral contender Marie Johns may well decide that she’s outmatched by Cropp and decide to run for the council chair, where she may face challenges from Council-members Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), and possibly even Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). And should the elusive current D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams choose to run, we’d be faced with a battle of the big guns — fresh-faced populist Adrian Fenty; established power-broker Linda Cropp; long-shot Vincent Orange; and good economy, great real estate, and new baseball team Williams.

Cropp has positioned herself well. In last year’s fierce and unpredictable battle over baseball, Cropp played both sides to her advantage. By scuttling the deal at the last minute, she managed to become the gatekeeper to any succesful resolution and to bolster her one-with-the-people credentials, with which she’ll fit comfortably between ardent baseball opponent Fenty and baseball-at-any-cost Williams. She seems to know her city politics, that which will serve her well in what is shaping up to be a long and messy campaign approaching next September’s Democratic primary.