A battle may be shaping up to take over for City Council President Joe Shogan.

Ben Stuckart, executive director for Communities in Schools of Spokane County, said Wednesday that he is "strongly considering" a run for Spokane City Council president.

City Councilman Steve Corker announced last year that he is a candidate to replace Shogan, who is not running again.

Last year, Stuckart was the spokesman for the unsuccessful campaign for the Children's Investment Fund,  a proposed property tax for youth programs aimed at lowering the dropout rate.

Stuckart, 39, said he will make a decision about running by March 1. He is the former regional manager for TicketsWest and was hired in 2007 to start the Communities in Schools' Spokane office. Stuckart lives in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood on the South Hill.

(Photo information: Ben Stuckart, director of Communities in Schools, stands in his small office in Spokane Thursday, Mar. 4, 2010. By Jesse Tinsley.)