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Doug Oliver announces he's running for mayor

Mayoral hopeful Doug Oliver has officially thrown his hat into the ring, as of today.

Mayoral hopeful Doug Oliver has officially thrown his hat into the ring, as of today.

"DO 2015" Spokesman Mustafa Rashed told the Daily News that earlier today, Oliver informed his bosses at Philadelphia Gas Works that he would be leaving at the end of the month to pursue his campaign for mayor. He currently serves as PGW's vice president of marketing and corporate communications, and under the city charter's "resign-to-run" rule, he can't do both at once.

For six weeks, Oliver had been mulling the decision with the help of an exploratory committee working to measure his chances.

"One of the things we've found is that people are still sitting on the sidelines in terms of giving money to candidates. Not being an official candidate makes that clear. You have to actually go and do it," said Rashed.

Oliver announced he was flirting with the idea in mid-November and has been courting business- and community-leaders for support.

"It's more about what you can negotiate than what you can dictate," said Rashed.

"He'll be a consensus builder. He'll try to find new ways and new ideas to make things work. We've got a great opportunity with the city."