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Editor's note: The online version of this article has been corrected to note that representatives of state Del. Onzee Ware, D-Roanoke, were present for Thursday's announcement, not Ware himself.

Roanoke lawyer and businessman Ray Ferris formally announced his candidacy for city council Thursday, pledging to fight for the city in which he grew up.

Ferris is one of four city Democrats to announce their candidacies. The others are former Councilman Bill Bestpitch, Countryside golf advocate Valerie Garner and incumbent councilman David Trinkle. All are running in a March 2 party primary for three Roanoke City Council nominations.

The general election is May 4.

A fifth candidate, Robert Craig, said he plans to announce his candidacy next week. The retired Marine colonel has not yet decided whether he will run as an independent or a Republican.

Craig, a frequent council critic, said he's running as a "fiscal conservative with a strong background in finance and a demonstrated record in financial management" with 17 years as a finance manager and comptroller in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Roanoke City Republican Committee chairman Adam Boitnott said that four potential candidates are still considering a run. Feb. 11 is the deadline for Republicans to register before a Feb. 17 mass meeting to nominate candidates.

Independents may register to run until March 2.

During his announcement in city council chambers, Ferris said, "I'm a family man. I'm a lawyer, I'm a business man. I'm a decision maker. I'm a passionate Roanoker."

He talked about growing up on Patterson Avenue and working in his family's grocery store there before attending college, where he received a degree in accounting and a law degree.

Other than his time at the University of Richmond School of Law, Ferris said he's never left Roanoke and made a conscious decision to remain in the city limits and send his children to the city's public schools.

Ferris pledged support for the city school board and said his college degree in accounting and his experience with running a business -- the Sav-A-Lot Supermarket on Patterson Avenue -- will aid the council in making hard budget decisions over the next few years.

He also addressed his legal defense of neo-Nazi William A. White, who last month was convicted on four of seven federal charges for threatening people from Virginia Beach to Canada. Ferris said he disagrees with White's beliefs but felt compelled to defend White in court because he believes it is important to defend the U.S. Constitution, including the right to free speech.

"I defend it for blacks, for whites, for neo-Nazis, Hispanics -- it doesn't matter to me, because the Constitution of the United States is the glue that holds us all together," Ferris said.

"The fact that I fight for Bill White should tell you something about the way I'll fight for Roanoke city. This case, I can fight for somebody as hard as I did for him on a cause that I don't believe in, you can imagine how hard I will fight for Roanoke city and for what's right for the city, which is something I do truly, honestly believe in."

More than 80 people attended Ferris' announcement in city council chambers, including Councilman Rupert Cutler, representatives of state Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, and Brenda Hale, president of the Roanoke NAACP branch.

Hale, one of White's targets for harassment, said that Ferris' defense of him is still of "deep concern" but she wants to evaluate each city council candidate fairly. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People does not endorse candidates but it will issue a voter guide on them in the coming months, Hale said.