Brian Bowman officially running for re-election

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is officially running for re-election.

Bowman signed the registration papers needed to launch his campaign at the city clerk's office Friday morning.

"It's official," Bowman said to reporters after leaving the city clerk's office with his wife, Tracy Bowman.

"I'm looking forward to the campaign. It's been an incredible honour for me to serve, and for our family to serve, over the last four years," said Bowman.

"I think there's a positive momentum that's been growing in our community … and the opportunity to continue to serve, to continue strengthening our city as we grow to a million strong, is something that I'm very much hopeful Winnipeggers will afford me."

Bowman casually announced his intention to seek a second term as Winnipeg's mayor during routine media Q&A session in March, but had to wait until the campaign-registration period for mayoral candidates opened this month to make it official.

Bowman was first elected four years ago in the wide-open race to succeed Sam Katz, who served as mayor for a decade.

Although Bowman had a low profile at the outset of the 2014 campaign, he captured 111,504 votes — 48 per cent of the electorate — in a battle against former NDP MP and MLA Judy Wasylycia-Leis, current Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette and former city councillors Gord Steeves and Paula Havixbeck.

Business development consultant Jenny Motkaluk, former Winnipeg Transit driver Don Woodstock, former Morden, Man., mayor Doug Wilson and Umar Hayat — who describes himself as an entrepreneur, real estate investor and a stock trader — have also registered their mayoral campaigns.

Winnipeg's election takes place Oct. 24.