Centennial City Councilwoman Stephanie Piko announced Sunday she’s running for mayor of the suburban city.

“As the next mayor of Centennial, I will continue to build on Centennial’s great foundation by implementing the plans that are in place to better connect our citizens,” Piko said at Centennial Center Park, surrounded by family and supporters.

Piko joins Mayor Pro Tem C.J. Whelan, a fellow member of city council, in the race to succeed term-limited Mayor Cathy Noon. (Piko and Whelan both represent District 4 and were elected to overlapping, staggered terms.)

The nonpartisan municipal election is Nov. 7, 2017.

She said she intends to empower residents of the young city – it was incorporated in 2001 – to help improve connectivity, transportation, the economy and life in general.

“Whether through the internet via our FiberWorks project, through our streets with smarter transportation solutions, to our businesses by providing more opportunities for jobs closer to home and especially through our citizens’ interactions with their own city,” she said, “I’ll be looking for new ways for Centennial residents to become a part of and involved within their own community. Strong citizen engagement will lead to better outcomes in planning, growth and management of the city.”

Piko recently was named vice chair of the Centennial FiberWorks Commission, which is overseeing installation of the city’s fiber optic backbone. She’s serving her second four-year term on the city council. At the Monday, Feb. 13, city council meeting, Piko was the only nominee to serve as the city’s next mayor pro tem, which is set to be ratified next week for a term starting the week after that.

Centennial’s mayor and council members serve part-time. The mayor is paid $16,000 a year, while council members make $12,000 a year.

The south metro area city is Colorado’s 10th largest, coming in just behind Pueblo and just ahead of Boulder, with roughly 107,000 residents, according to recent estimates.

Piko manages her husband Jim’s radiology practice and is a consultant with a line of skincare products. Their sons Austin and Conner both started kindergarten at Fox Hollow Elementary School in 2001 – the year the school opened and also the year the Pikos moved to Centennial. Both young men went on to graduate from Grandview High School and are enrolled in college. Their mom taught technology and was the computer technician at Fox Hollow while they attended the school. She works as a substitute teacher in the Cherry Creek School District.

City Councilman Ken Lucas said at the announcement that he has found Piko to be “deliberative in her decision-making, smart” and said she “has terrific leadership skills which are essential for being an effective mayor.”

“I appreciate Stephanie’s commitment to work collaboratively with Arapahoe County on issues of mutual interest,” said Arapahoe County Commissioner Nancy Sharpe, one of Piko’s initial endorsers. “Whether those issues are water quality at the Cherry Creek Reservoir, transportation or others, she looks for the best quality outcome. Stephanie is smart, dedicated and a pleasure to work with.”

Piko has the support of current and former lawmakers, including state Sen. Jack Tate, Assistant House Minority Leader Cole Wist and former state Sen. Nancy Spence, all Centennial Republicans.

“Stephanie is an outstanding person and professional,” Tate said introducing Piko at her announcement Sunday. “She is the right kind of steward to have managing the city budget, the growth of our community and making sure prosperity is synonymous with the city of Centennial.”

Wist said he believes Piko understands that government should be accountable to residents. “She will keep Centennial fiscally strong, accountable and safe,” he added.

Polstar Strategies founder Ryan Lynch, a veteran consultant and former executive director for the state Republican Party, is managing Piko’s campaign.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com