Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is running for California governor.

He joins a growing field of candidates for the 2018 contest that includes Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Villaraigosa made the long-expected announcement on a website Thursday, saying he will focus on rebuilding the middle class by investing in schools and repairing roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

The 63-year-old Villaraigosa left the mayor's office in 2013 after two up-and-down terms. He can claim successes that include bulking up the police department and seeding a transit-building boom, but was also faulted for sometimes promising more than he delivered. A school takeover plan flopped.

The son of a Mexican immigrant, the high-school dropout turned around his life and eventually became speaker of the California Assembly, city councilman and in 2005, mayor.