The exploratory committee for “Speer For Mayor” has officially been dissolved and Democrat Michael Speer has announced his official candidacy for mayor of East Haven in the 2015 municipal elections.

Speer is the sole Democrat currently seeking the seat. Incumbent Republican Joseph Maturo, Jr., faces fellow Republican Sal Maltese for the GOP endorsement.

Speer described the exploratory phase as “an incredible journey that has allowed our team to test our message and the strategy that our team has spent over a year working on.”

He said his campaign slogan “Believe In East Haven” has been welcomed by both “the citizens of East Haven as well as the people from outside [the area] who have asked how they can get involved.”

Speer said his campaign website www.speerformayor.com will be an instrumental part of fundraising and also provide information to educate the public on board and commission meetings via the site’s news tab.

In the video “Ready to Believe” Speer posted in February on YouTube, Speer said, “My sole focus is to the residents of East Haven and creating a long-term strategy that would energize the electorate to be involved and a strategy that meets our principles and the standards our team has set. We will be running a different kind of campaign.”

Speer said that his website’s simple navigation system “provides viewers with an inside look at the campaign...The past thoughts of being intimidated or thinking you must be part of an ‘in crowd’ to get involved in your local government has been completely revolutionized by this website.”

Speer also said that the “Get Involved” tab includes the ability to recruit. “Anyone can sign up to be a volunteer for the campaign. We have also started an internship program for high school and college-aged students called Believe in the Youth, which puts a focus on bringing younger people” on board.

Those interested in assisting running for a position with the campaign can get more information on the site.

Contact Jaki Lauper at j.lauper@shorepublishing.com with East Haven news ideas.