San Diego

Declaring that City Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt has lost her credibility, corporate attorney Tom Behr announced his candidacy for Bernhardt’s 5th District seat Thursday at a news conference outside City Hall.

“I am not a politician,” Behr, an attorney for Solar Turbines, said. “I have never run for nor held public office, and I have not moved into the district to run for this seat. What I am is an involved, long-term resident who has the best interests of the district at heart and who can sit on the sidelines no longer.”

A committee seeking to recall Bernhardt has qualified an election for the ballot. The City Council is scheduled to set the date of the election at a meeting early next year. City Clerk Charles Abdelnour has recommended an April 9 election date.

The election to name Bernhardt’s replacement would be held simultaneously with the recall, which would be the first since the city switched to a charter form of government in 1931. Other candidates who have said they will run for the seat include former Councilman Floyd Morrow, who placed third in the 1989 primary, and attorney Mike Eckmann, who placed fourth.