City Council member Lavonta Williams to run for mayor

City Council member Lavonta Williams, who represents District 1 in northeast Wichita, has filed paperwork for mayor.

Williams said the decision “took a lot of praying,” but that she’d given it serious consideration for the past week.

Mayor Carl Brewer cannot run again for the seat after two four-year terms. Williams said she wanted to file the paperwork quietly Tuesday since Brewer will have his final State of the City address tonight.

“I considered this the mayor’s day, so I didn’t want to make a big fuss,” she said.

Williams is among 10 candidates who have filed paperwork for the mayor’s race. Some speculated former police chief Norman Williams would file, but he did not.

Lavonta Williams still has two years left in her term on the City Council. She said that if she did not win the mayor’s race, she would still be able to continue the rest of her term.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 1:44 PM with the headline "City Council member Lavonta Williams to run for mayor."