BATON ROUGE - Metro Council member John Delgado announced Thursday morning he's running for the East Baton Rouge Mayor-President's office.

Delgado was elected to the Metro Council in 2012. He would replace Kip Holden, who is term-limited.

He said Thursday he plans to tackle crime and transportation issues if elected, and supports a plan to create a high-speed toll highway through the parish which would help bypass the congestion-plagued interstate system.

Delgado also said he wants to designate a north Baton Rouge economic district to help create opportunities in that area.

"It's easy for residents in a prosperous neighborhood to think economic development in other parts of the city is someone else's concern," Delgado said in an emailed statement. "Making every aspect of Baton Rouge better, in every neighborhood and for every citizen, is a job for all of us and it requires a leader - the kind of leader I will be as mayor."

Delgado joins former Metro Councilman "Smokie" Bourgeois (R) and state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome (D), who previously announced their intent to seek EBR's highest elected office.