Alpharetta City Councilman Doug DeRito announced he plans to run for mayor of the city at the November election.

DeRito followed through on his promise to make a decision and announcement of his plans two weeks before the qualifying period starts for city elective offices, which starts Aug. 29 and ends on Aug. 31. Once he qualifies, the city charter requires him to leave his council seat because the council term would overlap with the mayoral term. His term expires on Dec. 31, 2014.

City Councilman Jim Paine, who previously announced he planned to run for mayor, doesn't have to resign because his term expires Dec. 31 of this year, before the mayoral term starts.

The third announced candidate, David Belle Isle, is a former City Council member.

With DeRito throwing his hat into the ring, in addition to the mayor's race, there will be four City Council seats up for election, with three terms expiring and the need to fill DeRito's unexpired term.

DeRito plans to turn his focus on continuing the good fiscal leadership of the city during these current tough economic times, address aging infrastructure needs and keep an eye on protecting the quality of life through maintaining a robust public safety model.

DeRito moved to Alpharetta more than 15 years ago, with his wife Ann Marie and three children (Jenna 22, Douglas 20 and Matthew 18), after serving his former community in Edgewater, New Jersey as a School Board Trustee and a city councilman.

DeRito is a partner with Ryan LLC, an international corporate tax consulting firm. He serves as the managing partner for Ryan’s Atlanta office and deals with corporate international, federal and state/local tax matters around the world for Fortune 1000 companies. He is a nationally recognized speaker on tax matters and a nationally certified tax accountant by trade.

DeRito serves as the president of the Alpharetta High School Foundation, served as a board member on the Alpharetta Public Safety Foundation, as a board member on the Alpharetty YMCA and has served as the City Council liaison to the Finance, Public Safety and Recreation & Parks Departments. Prior to joining the City Council, he served as a member of the Recreation & Parks Board.