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Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer gives State of City address, says he won't run for governor

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer used his 2013 State of the City address on Wednesday to announce he won't run for governor next year.

The speech came one day after Dyer's 10th anniversary as mayor.

An overflow crowd attended the speech at City Hall. The mayor told them that crime is down in the city, development and housing is on the rise, but one thing many are interested in is the potential for yet another new sports venue and another professional sports team in the city.

The mayor spoke briefly about his hope that Orlando can make soccer a new priority for the coming year.

"Thinking about the next 10 years for downtown also means not shying away from big ideas. Major League Soccer is expanding and Orlando is at the top of that list, but securing a new franchise requires a new urban stadium," Dyer said. "We have an ownership group prepared to invest in our community, so we owe it to our community to make that happen."

The Brazilian investor the mayor mentioned is interested in putting up $80 million to take Orlando City soccer and bring it into Major League Soccer with a new stadium somewhere in Orlando.

In the meantime, political science professor Rick Foglesong sees the race for governor taking a familiar shape with two familiar names.

"It's hard not to project a match-up between Rick Scott and Charlie Crist," said Foglesong.

Scott has been touring the state for the last month, highlighting his budget and increased education spending all while quietly amassing a small fortune reported at $100 million in his re-election war chest.

Crist has finished the transition from Republican to Independent to Democrat and has his own backing, specifically, the law firm of Morgan and Morgan, his current employer.