INDIANAPOLIS (WOWO): Indianapolis businessman Chuck Brewer says he‘s in it to win it. The Republican says he‘ll file paperwork later this week to run for Mayor of Indianapolis.

At this point, he appears to be the frontrunner to win the Marion County Republican Party‘s nomination.

Brewer says as he‘d like to build on the accomplishments of Greg Ballard who isn‘t seeking re-election. He says he was planning to run for City County Council, but Ballard‘s announcement caused him to reconsider and decide to run for mayor.

Brewer owns Soupremacy and Potbelly‘s Sandwich Shops on Monument Circle. He‘s also a Marine Corps veteran. He spent 23 years in the military. Brewer says entrepreneurship is important and he‘d like to help create an even better environment for business in the city.

He says he also wants to focus on job creation, education and public safety. He says in order to boost public safety, the city needs to focus on societal issues that lead people to resort to crime among other things.

The 43-year-old says he‘s confident that his campaign will be able to raise the millions of dollars needed to mount a serious campaign. Brewer says he knows that he‘s “the underdog,” but he does believe that Democrat Joe Hogsett is beatable.

Finally, Brewer says downtown Indianapolis remains a big destination point and it‘s important that the city continue mixed-use development. He says more structures need to be added to the city‘s tax base. He says he‘ll spend the next week intensely “getting out and meeting voters.”