LEWISTON – Norm Rousseau hopes to replace Lionel Guay when the mayor’s term ends next year.

Rousseau, the city councilor for Lewiston’s Ward 7, became the first person Tuesday to officially throw his hat in the ring for the mayor’s job. The election is more than year away.

“I know there are other people working behind the scenes for this now, so I thought it should probably get started,” Rousseau said. “I’ve already talked to people who said they’ve been asked to support other candidates. So, while it’s early, I didn’t want to get left behind.”

Former Lewiston Police Chief Larry Gilbert announced in June that he was considering a run for the mayor’s job. Gilbert formed an exploratory committee this summer to see if voters would support him as mayor.

Rousseau said Tuesday he didn’t need to explore anything.

“I knew I was going to do it, so why explore it?” he said. “But it makes sense for people to know what I’m going to do. That might influence some of their decisions between now and then.”

According to Lewiston’s charter, the mayor is limited to two two-year terms. Guay was elected in 2003 and reelected in 2005. He begins his final year as mayor in January.

Rousseau was elected to the City Council in 2001. Before that, he served on the Downtown Advisory Board and the city’s Downtown Development Management Corporation.

As a councilor, he also acts as advisor for the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council and as president of the Board of Directors of the Lewiston Urban Civic Center Enterprise LLC. That’s the group that manages Lewiston’s Colisee ice arena.

City Clerk Kathy Montejo said candidates for Lewiston municipal office must wait until July 2007 before they can officially run. That’s when candidates can begin passing nomination petitions, collecting signatures to get them on the 2007 ballot.