University of Hawai'i engineering professor Panos Prevedouros yesterday said he will again run for Honolulu mayor, when there is a vacancy.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, whose term runs through 2012, has formed an exploratory gubernatorial campaign committee and is expected by many to resign by July in order to seek the Democratic nomination for governor.

Prevedouros, 49, finished third in the September 2008 mayoral primary behind Hannemann and Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi. He ran largely on a platform opposing the city's $5 billion-plus rail transit project.

Prevedouros finished with 17.7 percent of the vote, which helped force a runoff between Hannemann and Kobayashi.

This year, he said he is focused on repairing and maintaining the city's aging infrastructure and increasing efficiency in city departments and finding other ways to tackle the city's problems.

Other announced candidates for mayor are city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle and Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz.