On March 29, Federal Way City Council member Michael Park confirmed his candidacy for elected mayor.

Until now, city council member Jim Ferrell has been the only declared candidate for Federal Way’s first mayoral election. Last fall, Ferrell led the effort to pass Proposition 1, which switched Federal Way’s government from a council/city manager system to one with a strong elected mayor. The election is slated for November 2010; a primary, if necessary, will be held in August.

Park was appointed to the city council in June 1995, and won re-election to his seat later that year. Park has been re-elected in 1999, 2003 and 2007, and served as Federal Way’s mayor from 2000-2001 and 2006-2007, according to a city Web site..

On March 29, Ferrell’s campaign filed a complaint to the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) against Park. The complaint cites three occasions in which Park either announced his mayoral candidacy or held fundraisers. The complaint cites that Park raised $30,000 in a March 9 fundraiser, and that he held another fundraiser March 26. According to PDC rules, candidates must register within two weeks of becoming a candidate.

As of press time Monday, Park was on board an airplane to South Korea for a Sister Cities trip and was not available to comment further. As of press time, Park was not yet listed on the PDC Web site as a candidate for mayor, and a PDC spokeswoman confirmed Park had not registered a campaign.