CLEVELAND — Dennis Kucinich announced Monday he intends to run for mayor of Cleveland. 

Kucinich was joined by his wife and a handful of supporters as he made the announcement from the Cleveland sign in Tremont.

The filing deadline for the 2021 Cleveland mayoral race is Wednesday. A primary to narrow the large field of candidates down to two will be held Sept. 14. The general election will be Nov. 2. 

Kucinich said safety and crime would be a focus of his campaign. Among his proposals, Kucinich said he would add 300 members to Cleveland Police.

"If they're going to invest in a community, they have to know it's safe," Kucinich said.

A large contingent of candidates are vying to replace Mayor Frank Jackson, who announced last month he will not run for re-election, ending a 16-year stint. 

Council President Kevin Kelley, Councilman Basheer Jones, State Senator Sandra Williams and Former Councilman Zack Reed are among those who previously announced mayoral bids. 

Kucinich was 31 when he won the seat in 1977. 

According to Case Western Reserve’s encyclopedia of Cleveland history, Kucinich faced a recall election less than one year into his mayoral term after he fired police Chief Richard Hongisto.

The encyclopedia also noted that Kucinich faced pressure in 1978 to sell the municipal light plant as city finances worsened. Kucinich argued that the light plant kept electric rates low despite the city owing $14 million in short-term notes.

During his announcement Monday, Kucinich supporters held up signs that said "Light Up Cleveland," 

Kucinich lost re-election in 1979 to George Voinovich, who would later become governor of Ohio and a U.S. senator. 

He continued his political career by becoming a member of Cleveland City Council and the Ohio Senate. In 1997, Kucinich began a 16-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, which ended after losing a 2012 primary to Rep. Marcy Kaptur when Ohio consolidated its U.S. House seats.

During his tenure in the U.S. House, Kucinich ran twice for the Democratic nomination for president. 

Since his U.S. House tenure, Kucinich has provided commentary for Fox News.

In a poll released by Baldwin Wallace University last month, Kucinich was leading the field with 17.8% of those surveyed saying they would vote for him. But of the Clevelanders surveyed, 48% were unsure who they would vote for. 

Jones was second in the Baldwin Wallace poll at 13.3%.