Jeff McKeown was unopposed when he first ran for mayor in 2006. This year, he’s going to have competition.

Councilor John Muenchrath and Fred Kirby both filed Tuesday as candidates for Coos Bay mayor.

Muenchrath, a urologist at Bay Area Hospital and North Bend Medical Center, was elected to the council in 2004, the same year McKeown ran for re-election on the council. Both won seats, though Muenchrath garnered more votes: 4,079 to 4,065.

That same year, Kirby ran for mayor against Joe Benetti. Benetti won the race to serve his third, and last, term of office. In that race, Kirby garnered 2,305 votes, to the Coos Bay restaurateur’s 4,528.

Kirby, a retired aerospace and high-tech businessman, acknowledged in a press release that he might have been a little green when he first ran.

� “I was not on top of all issues that were important to the citizens of Coos Bay,” he said in a press release. “I understand that thousands of unhappy people voted against the status quo and not necessarily for me.”

Kirby said he is unhappy with the business-as-usual attitude he sees in City Hall, and wants to see new leadership.

Kirby apparently filed for office unaware that Muenchrath had done the same. In his press release, he said he would have supported a Muenchrath run.

Kirby is an opponent of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, noting he has been against the idea since it was first broached four years ago. Muenchrath also has expressed concerns about the LNG terminal. He also has been critical at times of the South Coast Development Council, as has Kirby.

Muenchrath was seeing patients this morning, a medical center spokeswoman said, and unavailable for comment before press time.

McKeown said he was not surprised that he will face opponents in November. Rather than talk about his opponents’ failings, he said he preferred to talk about what he would bring as a candidate: consistent leadership and keeping the best interests of the entire city at the forefront.

“It’s important to see the entire city and do what’s best for the entire community,” he said.

The race for Coos Bay mayor is not the only contested one in the city. Nine candidates are vying for four open seats on the City Council. They include incumbents Jon Eck and Gene Melton, as well as Daniel L. Baumann, Howard Forte, David Engholm, Joanie Johnson, Thomas Kramer, D. Stephen Pickering and John Pundt. Michele Burnette decided not to seek re-election.