Lansing State Sen. Virg Bernero says he's ready to put on a new political hat.

Less than a year into his four-year Senate term, the former state House representative and Ingham County commissioner said he is confident he'll win the race for Lansing mayor.

The Lansing Democrat represents most of Ingham County, including Lansing, East Lansing and Meridian Township, and has been using his summer recess from the Legislature to devote all of his time to campaigning for mayor.

"The mayor's job doesn't open every day," Bernero said. "I can do more for my constituents as mayor of Lansing than as a senator in the minority party."

Bernero, 39, will be competing against Mayor Tony Benavides in the general election Nov. 4. In the Lansing primaries Bernero came in second with 4,506 votes and Benavides with 6,668 votes. There was a total of 12,182 votes.

Candidates will finish out the remaining two years of former Mayor David Hollister's four-year term.

Benavides, the incumbent, began filling in as mayor when Hollister left office to work in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration. The mayoral position pays $107,000 per year to manage the city's $100-million budget.

If Bernero wins the general election, a special election will be held to fill his Senate seat.

After eight years with the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, Bernero, a graduate of Adrian College, was elected to the state House in 2000 for a two-year term. Due to redistricting, he chose not to run for re-election, and instead in 2002 successfully ran for a spot in the Senate.

Bernero said one of his top priorities if elected mayor is to re-establish community policing, which assigns officers to specific neighborhoods.

"It bolsters the confidence that the public has in the police department when they know the officer," he said.

In an effort to boost downtown development and economics, Bernero said he plans to appoint a business ombudsman to recruit new businesses.

Bernero said he also plans to rid the city of bad landlords by appointing a housing czar to enforce housing codes.

"Any absentee landlord that thinks they're going to have run-down property, they may as well fix it up now," Bernero said. "When I get in there, there's a new sheriff in town."

Some council members say the future mayor should have a background in Lansing city government.

"Experience is very important," Council President Carol Wood said. "I think that part of that also has to be the fact that you have basic knowledge of a city and how things are done in the city."