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Two weeks remain for residents to announce plans to run for Gaithersburg mayor and two city council seats — and Mayor Sidney A. Katz has a contender.

Richard Koch, a 10-year Kentlands resident, developer and certified public accountant, jumped in to the mayoral race Friday with a list of 10 goals for improving the city.

"The most important thing that needs to be done to improve living conditions in the 20877 ZIP code is to rebuild Gaithersburg High School," Koch said. "It's a no-brainer."

The mayor should focus negotiating powers with the county on getting appropriations for a new high school, which would be the single-best initiative to improve the financial, economic and social benefits to the city, said Koch, a managing member of Keystone Real Estate Investments, LLC.

The married father of three and self-described fiscal conservative suggested in May that the city revisit its 40-year policy of not raising the real estate property tax rate.

Now, he is proposing relocating the primary route for the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway from its current alignment that bypasses downtown Gaithersburg to a route along Frederick Avenue to give the city a transit station in its downtown core that connects to the Metro Red Line.

Koch also wants to temper county development along city edges and suggested that a density increase proposed in the Gaithersburg West Master Plan focus on the county-owned property at Shady Grove Metro, he said Tuesday.

"I have never heard that as a suggested alignment, prior," said Katz of Koch's CCT suggestion. "If it's something that the public would like to discuss, I'm happy to discuss it."

Katz, a married father of two and an Olde Towne shop owner, ran unopposed his last election. He has been mayor since 1998, when he was appointed to the seat when Mayor Ed Bohrer died. Mayors serve four-year terms.

Budgets are his number-one concern, the mayor said. The last three years, the city has dipped into reserves and last week the state cut highway user funds and police aid to Gaithersburg by nearly $1.7 million.

"I'm always very pleased when someone shows interest in the city," Katz said of his opposition. "I'm going to do things just the way I planned to do things prior."

Gaithersburg residents will cast their ballots for mayor and two City Council members Nov. 3. Deadline for candidates to submit paperwork is 5 p.m. Sept. 21. Candidate packages are available on the city's Web site and the first floor at City Hall.

Councilmen Henry F. Marraffa Jr. and Michael A. Sesma plan to vie to keep their spots.  Marraffa, first elected in 1994, plans to continue the work he has started, he said Tuesday. The burning issue now is generating enough revenue to get through tight fiscal times, he said.

A more pro-active and aggressive transportation element to the Gaithersburg Master Plan is needed, said Sesma, who believes in "a reasonable approach to growth that ensures a quality of life" for current and future residents.

Tom Rowse, a Deer Park resident who chairs the Olde Towne Advisory Council, is also running for a seat on the five-member City Council.

"I'm all about teamwork and positivity," said Rowse, a business consultant who believes that "even in these hard times" the city's budget is balanced and Gaithersburg "is in good shape to transcend any issues" that come its way.

Rowse, a former social studies teacher and football coach at Thomas S. Wootton High School, has worked with small businesses and serves as chair of the Olde Towne Advisory Committee.

The last day to register to vote in the 2009 City Election is Oct. 5. The city will begin distributing absentee voter applications Oct. 2.

Anyone interested in serving as an election judge for the 2009 Gaithersburg City Elections or who has questions regarding the upcoming election is asked to call Lauren Klingler at 301-258-6310, ext. 2172 or e-mail her at lklingler@gaithersburgmd.gov.