Spokane Mayor Mary Verner finally has an obstacle in her bid to reelection.

David Condon, the deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, said Monday that he will enter the race for Spokane mayor.

Until now, only Christopher W. Fenton, a political unknown and lab analyst at Signature Genomics, had entered the race to challenge Verner.

Condon, 37, really made his announcement yesterday at Bloomsday. Some of his supporters, including his wife, Kristin Condon, wore "Elect David Condon" T-shirts. The shirts stress that the position is nonpartisan -- a likely acknowledgment that the city leans Democratic.

He said he took a leave of absence from his job representing the Republican congresswoman as of Friday and will work full time on his campaign.

In a brief interview Monday, he said he has enjoyed positive relations with Verner.

""I'm not going to run a race against Mary Verner," he said.

Instead, he said he would focus on job creation.

"You do need to outright partner with the business community," he said.

He said that he opposes the license tab tax that was endorsed by Verner and approved by the City Council in February.

He said that he hasn't formulated an opinion about the need to raise property taxes to help balance the budget next year. Verner said she plans to present the City Council with two budgets. One would solve the city's estimated $6.6 million gap in 2012 with a levy lid lift (property tax boost). The other would rely mostly on layoffs and cuts in case voters or the City Council reject it. 

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