Mayor Sue Bauman announced yesterday afternoon that she will run for re-election as Mayor of Madison next spring.

Standing in front of the Hawthorne Branch of the Madison Public Library, Bauman said she has no regrets of her administration’s record.

“I’m proud of what we have accomplished here in Madison over the last five and a half years,” Bauman said.

Bauman’s announcement comes at a time when the outlook of her political career has never been grimmer. In August, Paul Soglin, mayor of Madison twice before, announced he would once again seek the office he held through most of the last decade. He has since emerged as the front-runner.

In addition, Dave Cieslewicz, a major player in Dane County’s environmental scene, announced last Thursday his intention to challenge Bauman.

Both have been vocal in criticizing Bauman’s inability to lead the city government, which has been plagued by internal quarrels for several years.

Soglin suddenly resigned as mayor in 1997 after serving for eight consecutive years. In that year, Bauman was elected mayor in a special election, defeating Ald. Wayne Bigelow by a slim margin of 55 votes. Bauman was able to edge Bigelow due largely to a successful campaign aimed at attracting votes from the university. She pledged to fight for student issues, such as a curb on police crackdowns on house parties.

Recently, however, Bauman has been criticized by students for supporting both the proposed drink-special ban and an ordinance designed to prohibit smoking in some bars, two initiatives that are unpopular with students.