Photo by Matt Cohen.

It’s official: David Catania is running for mayor.

Earlier this morning, the At-Large Councilmember filed his mayoral candidacy papers at the Office of Campaign Finance, officially entering the already crowded race to become D.C.’s next mayor. However, since Catania is running as an Independent, he won’t be included in April’s Democratic primary. He’ll face the candidate who wins the primary in the November general election.

Addressing the media at the Franklin D. Reeves center, Catania addressed the allegations made by businessman Jeffrey Thompson against Vince Gray — that he was fully aware of a shadow campaign to benefit his 2010 run for mayor. “I’ve made my feelings known about the mayor’s shadow campaign when it was first disclosed two years ago,” Catania said. “I said he should have resigned then and I believe that today.”

Catania said that the narrative of this election should be focused on education reform, a sensible affordable housing plan, and how to handle the problems plaguing D.C. Fire and EMS. “It’s time for the Vince Gray, Jeff Thompson drama to end,” Catania said. “The less we talk about Vince Gray and Jeff Thompson, the better.”

Check out Catania’s first mayoral campaign video:

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