Ten people have filed declarations to run for mayor: Six Democrats, three independents and one Republican.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.�� He's in.

Former mayor and current radio talk show host Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci today announced today he is a candidate for a third chapter as mayor, a job he held for 21 years over two administrations.

His announcement -- ending weeks of speculation --�came just over seven years after he left federal prison in New Jersey�where he spent some five years after being convicted by a federal jury in 2002 of racketeering in the Plunder Dome investigation.

Technically, his filing with the city Board of Canvassers of�his declaration of candidacy�isn't the final word. He and the seven other candidates who have declared for mayor�still have to submit nomination petitions signed by at least 500 registered city voters by July 11 in order to appear on the ballot.

Candidates react to Cianci entering the race: Daniel Harrop | Michael Solomon | Brett Smiley | Lorne Adrain | Jorge Elorza

For the past few weeks on his afternoon show on WPRO-AM, Cianci, 73, had been swinging one way and then the other on the question of running. Some days he would hold forth on what he saw as lost development opportunities along the city waterfront, the economies that were possible by regionalizing municipal services and a general lack of spirit in the city.

On Monday, for instance, he was roused by an�opinion column in the Providence Journal�by announced�Democratic mayoral candidate�Lorne Adrain, who asserted that the debate over whether Cianci would run was a "distraction" at a time when residents should be focusing on "moving the city forward.

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"Will we finally erase the cloud of corruption that hangs over our city? Will we abandon the old boys network that's dominated our city for too long?" Adrain wrote.

Cianci claimed on his radio program that�his time as mayor saw significant improvements in the city and if his�past was to be erased, he said it would also have to take away things like the Providence Place mall, the Providence Performing Arts Center and Trinity Rep, which he claimed to have helped with tax agreements during his administration.

He also said dismissed suggestions that he'd be unable to match the other already announced candidates' campaign organizations and donor bases. He said he'd been approached by more than enough people to put together an effective� campaign operation quickly.

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"If I decide to go, believe me, they're there," he said Tuesday.

But on other days, and sometimes in the same show, he would switch direction and point out the financial and familial sacrifices as well as the workload the mayor�s job demanded. He also said the voter demographics of the city have changed since he last ran -- "times are different."

Cianci has held the office twice, for a total of 21 years. The first run was from 1975 to 1984. He had to resign after pleading no contest to assault and receiving a five-year suspended sentence.

He made a comeback in the 1990 election and was in office until 2002, again having to step down because of a criminal conviction.

The days running up to his 1990 decision were a lot like this year�s;� he held forth on the radio without giving a definitive answer until a supporter filed his declaration for him 17 minutes before the deadline.

His pattern has been to win close initial elections; in 1974 he topped Joseph A. Doorley by 709 votes as a Republican, and in 1990 he won by 317 votes in a three-way race as an independent. But he followed up both of those narrow wins with long reelection streaks that were both ended by criminal charges.

Ten people filed declarations as candidate for mayor:

Four of the five people who had earlier announced their intentions to run as Democrats -- City Council President Michael Solomon, Jorge Elorza, Christopher Young and Brett Smiley -- followed through with that party designation. But Lorne Adrain, who had also announced earlier that he would run as a Democrat, declared as an independent.

With that, there are now three declared independent candidates, including �Cianci and Jeffrey Edward Lemire.�



The Democratic field also includes Reinaldo Catone and Dominque Gregoire, bringing that party total to six.

Republican Daniel Harrop also filed his declaration of candidacy.

An earlier version of this report was published at 3:36 p.m.

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