Falls Church Mayor Nader Baroukh made it official this week, announcing his candidacy for a second four-year term on the Falls Church City Council. The election to fill three of the seven Council seats will be May 1. Baroukh was first elected in 2008 and was elected mayor by his Council colleagues in 2010.

The election of the mayor will follow the July 1 swearing in of the new Council members elected in May. “We have made great progress in the last few years, and have a lot more work to do. This is a wonderful community with amazingly talented people who are making immense contributions,” he said in a statement. “We have incredible potential and have many more great things to do.” Baroukh is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and works as a senior attorney at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsible for handling immigration and national security issues. He immigrated with his family to the U.S. from Iran as a child and grew up in the Los Angeles area.

Baroukh joins Councilman Lawrence Webb, Planning Commissioner John Lawrence and civic activist Phil Duncan as formally-announced candidates to date, with the filing deadline March 6.