ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced Tuesday that he will seek re-election and will not pursue becoming the next president at the University of Central Florida.
Dyer's name has been mentioned as a potential replacement for current UCF President John Hitt, who recently announced that he's retiring next year.
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"While I believe that I could do a great job as UCF president, I can do even more for our entire community as mayor," Dyer tweeted.
The mayor of Orlando since 2003, Dyer is the city's longest-tenured mayor. He has two years left in his four-year term before the next election.
During a news conference Tuesday morning, Dyer told reporters that he made the announcement to "give the voters and the staff members of Orlando some certainty."
Asked if this decision was made so that Dyer could run for Florida governor or another state-elected position the mayor said he would not consider running for governor, saying that he thinks "less gets done on the state and federal level."
"The cities are leading now on climate change, transportation and every area you can think of," Dyer said. "I think I can accomplish a lot more as mayor of Orlando."
Dyer said the June 12, 2016, mass shooting did affect his decision to re-run for mayor, but that "Pulse has affected everything in our lives in every way."
"I am so proud to be the mayor of this community and that role," Dyer said.