An Amarillo pastor who last year called for a boycott of Houston for its election of a gay mayor now wants to be mayor of Amarillo.

"The Scriptures are quite clear that the governing authorities are ministers of God, and if that is true - and we know from God's word that it is - then it just makes sense that ministers of God should be running for office," Repent Amarillo Director David Grisham Jr. said before filing paperwork Monday to run in the May 14 mayoral election.

The 50-year-old pastor and Pantex security police officer will face car dealer and former Amarillo City Commissioner Paul Harpole, 60, in the race.

Grisham said he wants to lead the city in a different direction, repealing ordinances that place design standards on downtown properties and a sign ordinance he thinks limits the freedoms of business owners.

Harpole thinks downtown urban design standards should remain in place but said Monday that the city should take a second look at business sign regulations adopted last year.

"I was against parts of it when it was passed, and I remain concerned about those details," Harpole said.

Grisham favors changing the city's election system to a single-member district process.

Under single-member districts, residents would choose commission representatives from among candidates who reside in their districts. Candidates would no longer run at large, or citywide.

With the current system, "what do we get?" Grisham asked. "We get wealthy people who are running for office. …

"If you want less of that and you want more of the common-people influence in our city, then you need to go with single-member districts."

Harpole opposes single-member districts.

The at-large voting system gives residents multiple representatives on the commission, rather than limiting them to one based on geographic area, he has said.

Grisham's opposition to the urban design standards and his support of single-member district voting zero in on positions taken by a grassroots political action committee, Amarillo Citizens for Property Rights.

The pastor said he has not met with the group's representatives, which last week submitted petitions to repeal the two ordinances and implement single-member districts.

Karl Taylor-Restine, a leader of the property rights group, said all candidates are welcome to "come and tell us what they think and where they stand. … Whoever it is, we would look to see how electable they might be before we would back them."

Grisham's candidacy could be polarizing to some voters and mobilizing to others, said Dave Rausch, a West Texas A&M University assistant professor of political science.

Some voters could be motivated to cast ballots to be sure their candidate wins, he said.

On the other hand, some might stay home.

"It's quite possible that, among some parts of the community, they (voters) may look and decide, 'I can't vote for Harpole, and I can't vote for him (Grisham) because he's not quite, apparently, in touch with reality maybe,'" Rausch said. "So they may end up not voting."

If single-member district voting or the repeal of the ordinances become ballot issues, they, too, could play a role in voter turnout, Rausch said.

Grisham said he wants a more family friendly focus for downtown Amarillo and development in other parts of the city.

"I don't have a problem with (development) if it's family-friendly," he said. "When it's a bunch of bars that's going to bring violence to our city, more drunk driving and more of our citizens getting killed on the street, I don't want to see that."

Repent Amarillo and Grisham aim to deter promiscuity, homosexuality and non-Christian worship practices through confrontation and prayer, and their actions have sparked controversy, both locally and nationwide.

Last September, while much of the nation was focused on a pastor in Gainesville, Fla., threatening to burn copies of the Quran to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Grisham threatened to do the same at a public park here.

His attempt was thwarted by 23-year-old Jacob Isom, who swept in and grabbed Grisham's Quran while the Repent Amarillo leader argued with protesters.

In January, Grisham drew national attention after urging the boycott of Houston for its being home to a gay mayor and one of the nation's largest abortion clinics.

Repent Amarillo also repeatedly clashed with an alleged Amarillo swingers club, praying and protesting outside the establishment.

"We're not campaigning against certain people's freedoms," Grisham said Monday. "When we preach on the streets, we give people a choice of accepting Christ or accepting things the way people are doing them. Are we aggressive about doing that? Yes, we are."

Candidates can file to run for mayor or an Amarillo City Commission seat through March 14.

On Monday, incumbent Place 2 Commissioner Brian Eades and incumbent Place 4 Commissioner Jim Simms filed to run for re-election.

And, retired banker Lilia Escajeda filed to run for the Place 3 seat being vacated by Commissioner Ron Boyd. Amarillo College Chief Communications Officer Ellen Green has announced her intention to run for the Place 1 seat being vacated by Commissioner Madison Scott, but she has not yet filed the official paperwork.