French on verge of mayoral announcement

City Councilman Al French will formally announce his campaign for mayor of Spokane tomorrow, according to a tip from local news outlets and a source close to the campaign. About three weeks ago I offered a post speculating about the possibility of a rematch between French and Mayor Dennis Hession and stating preference for French in such a race. Now that French is in, I look forward to following his campaign and think he will have the advantage against the appointed mayor. It also seems increasingly likely that there won't be a third strong candidate in the race, as multiple potential candidates have declined interest. The Spokesman Review interviewed some of the possibilities recently, and among those who are not running are:

-Former Congressional candidate Don Barbieri
-Senator Lisa Brown
-Former Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers
-Jim West recall leader Shannon Sullivan

Councilwoman Mary Verner left the door open for a run, but still sounds reluctant to enter, and would likely hurt Hession more than French as they both tend to draw support of more liberal voters. Former Mayor Sheri Barnard was also interviewed, but said she would not enter unless there is no female candidate. Seems like a lousy reason to run, but even if she did, her campaign would be a likely non-starter after failed mayoral runs in three of the last four elections (if memory serves me correctly).