A crowd of supporters spilled into the hallway as Evansville mayor Lloyd Winnecke signed paperwork Wednesday afternoon in the Vanderburgh County election office.
The Republican mayor officially launched his re-election campaign in a bid for his third term.
In a short speech, Winnecke talked generally about workforce development and quality-of-life investments.
"We must continue to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money while providing every service at the highest level possible," he said to supporters, whom the mayor invited to Party Central for a get-together after the launch.
Winnecke won his first mayoral election in 2011. He previously served as a Vanderburgh County commissioner and councilman.
Wednesday was the first day a candidate in a city election could file to run.
As of Winnecke’s campaign launch, he has no opponent. The only other person to file in any city election was Ed Bassemier. He’s running for an at-large seat on city council.
Candidates have until Feb. 8 to file. Primaries take place May 7 with the general election on Nov. 5. That's 300 days away.