Wichita City Councilman Bryan Frye made it official Thursday. “I am seeking election to serve Wichita as its next mayor.”

The two-term councilman made the announcement Thursday afternoon surrounded by friends, family, and other current and former elected officials including former Mayor Jeff Longwell.

He told the crowd that he believes “Wichita is at a pivotal point and I believe it's our jobs as electeds to further Wichita's dreams and bring them to reality."

Frye is the highest profile politician so far to challenge current Mayor Brandon Whipple’s re-election bid this fall and one of five candidates who have filed or declared they are running for the seat, including Whipple.

It's a pool that could continue to grow with the filing deadline not until June 1.

Whipple says with the race “It's not about who's running. It's about the progress of the people who have made who are in the race."

One of the other notable candidates is "Save Century II" founder Celeste Racette. She announced her bid in early February. 

She said during her announcement that “I want to use my voice to get inside to take a look at what we've been doing and to make sure the financial deals are fair to the public and fair to the taxpayers.”

Both Whipple and Frye say they welcome a big race for mayor.

"We want it to create the environment in which we can see ideas and really what people's vision for the future is," Whipple told KAKE.

Frye says “you need to have that engagement with the public to find out what people are talking about, who has other ideas, what are some solutions that we haven't come up with yet.”

The other two candidates who have filed through the elections office so far are Julie Rose Stroud and Anthony Gallardo.

Candidates have until June 1 to register for this year’s city elections.