Joe McDermott has made his decision: He’s in the race to succeed Jim McDermott.

Two weeks ago, after Congressmember McDermott announced he wasn’t running again, County Councilmember McDermott said he was thinking about it and would decide soon. This morning, he’s made the announcement via news release:

Third-generation resident of West Seattle, Chair of the King County Council and strong progressive Joe McDermott announced today his bid for Congress to represent Washington’s seventh congressional district (WA-07), which includes most of Seattle, Vashon Island, Burien, Normandy Park, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway and Edmonds.

McDermott, who has the most experience of any candidate running for Congress, also announced his “Repeal Citizens United” pledge rejecting any dark money independent expenditure spending on his behalf.

“As the son of schoolteachers, I am running for Congress to ensure that middle class Washingtonians continue to have a strong voice in Washington, D.C. and that’s why overturning Citizens United and preventing dark money from destroying our politics will be my priority from my first day in office – so we can finally achieve the progressive results our families need.”

McDermott also pledged to make cracking down on gun violence a top priority. As Chair of the Seattle King County Board of Health, McDermott has led efforts to classify gun violence as a public health crisis – resulting in a program that has saved lives and has become a model for both state and federal governments.

“For too long, politicians in Washington DC have kowtowed to the National Rifle Association. It is past time that we pass tough background checks, ban military style assault weapons plaguing our communities and once and for all hold gun manufacturers liable for the over thirty thousand deaths they cause in our country every year,” said McDermott.

McDermott has served on the King County Council for the last five years and from 2001 through 2010, McDermott represented the 34th Legislative District in the Washington State Legislature.