Toronto city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti officially entered the race for the mayor's seat late Tuesday morning by filing his nomination papers at the city hall elections office.

Mammoliti, who once served as an NDP MPP in the Ontario legislature, is the second high-profile candidate to register his candidacy for the mayoral race after nominations opened Monday morning.

He told reporters at city hall Tuesday that he would take a no-nonsense approach in tackling Toronto's financial troubles. He said he would consider opening up a casino and starting up a lottery to help generate funds.

The city needs to tackle the problems that have only gotten worse since the Toronto amalgamation in 1998, he said.

"I think we need to do it with a very clear voice, not being afraid of the obstacles that are in front of us and certainly not afraid to speak out and worry about how people are feeling based on a few comments," he said. "You've seen me speak my mind and not be afraid to do that."

Mammoliti, who has served city council for the past 15 years, made headlines during the garbage strike of 2009 by organizing a private dumping site.

One of Mammoliti's competitors is Liberal party organizer Rocco Rossi, who was first in line Monday to file his nomination.

The men are among a long list of well-known political notables who all want to replace Mayor David Miller in October's municipal election.

Among them are former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister George Smitherman, who officially resigned as MP Sunday afternoon.

Smitherman announced last year that he would indeed be running for mayor. The veteran politician is currently on vacation and is expected to file his nomination papers sometime this month.

Smitherman's main challenger is expected to be former PC leader John Tory, though he has yet to confirm his intentions.

Tory was a respected Conservative political backbencher and businessman before he threw his hat in the political ring in 2003 in his first bid for mayor. He came in second to Miller.

The Toronto native then moved on to provincial politics but was unsuccessful in gaining a seat in legislature after the 2007 election.

City hall observers are also keeping a close eye on several of Miller's allies on council, many of whom could split the vote among leftists.

Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone has said he will throw his name into the race by the end of the week. Pantalone has served on council since 1980.

TTC Chair Adam Giambrone and Budget Chief Shelley Carroll have both said they are undecided about which path they want to take into their political future.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson