Former Eugene Mayor, Jim Torrey, has announced his filed to run for Mayor in the city's upcoming non-partisan primary.

Torrey, who in 2006 lost a bruising campaign for the Oregon Senate, has re-registered as an Independent, and is the first local candidate in Oregon to file for public office as a member of the Independent Party.

The party has been fairly successful in its first year, having recruited former NEA chair, John Frohnmayer. It is the fastest growing political party in Oregon, adding more than 13,000 new members in the last year.

The Independent Party was formed in January, 2007, in response to legislative changes that were intended to keep independent candidates off of the ballot in Oregon.