A former state delegate is officially in the race for one of three District 16 seats next June.

Potomac resident Gareth Murray, who represented Silver Spring and Takoma Park as a District 20 delegate from 2003 to 2007, filed last week to run in District 16 for the June 24 Democratic primary.

Murray, 65, is an associate pastor at the First Baptist Church of Silver Spring. He moved to Potomac in 2008.

In a Bethesda Magazine story last month, Murray said he considered running in District 15 in 2010. His home has since been redistricted into District 16, which now has six announced and four filed candidates for three seats.

Murray finished seventh in a field of seven candidates for reelection in 2006. From Bethesda Magazine:

Murray failed to gain the politically powerful backing that year of the local teachers’ union, the Montgomery County Education Association, following a stint in the General Assembly that some criticized as lackluster – even though the MCEA’s statewide parent organization lined up behind him.

Murray’s campaign account had $14,175 in the bank as of January, according to campaign finance data.

He will join Jordan Cooper, Hrant Jamgochian, incumbent Ariana Kelly, Marc Korman and Kevin Walling as announced candidates.

Photo via First Baptist Church of Silver Spring