Ed Harris, the head of the city’s lifeguards union and a former interim City Council member, tossed his hat into the San Diego mayoral ring March 2, according to the City Clerk’s Office. Harris represented Council District 2 for most of 2014 after the seat was vacated by Kevin Faulconer when he became mayor and until Councilwoman Lorie Zapf was elected in her new district. He’s been a longtime advocate for improving health benefits for lifeguards, who often have to work in contaminated water, and recently directed the attention of city officials to a looming staffing crisis — in which many experienced lifeguards are due to retire in the next couple of years. Faulconer is running for re-election and is also being challenged by former state legislator Lori Saldana. Gita Appelbaum, Marty Gardner, Steven Greenwald, Bilal Homran, Sina Simon Moghadam, Gregory Morales and Lawrence Zynda have also taken out nominating papers to signify their intent to run for mayor. The papers have to be returned to the City Clerk’s Office by March 10. — City News Service