Assemblyman Gil Cedillo said Monday that he will run for the 1st District seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 2013. 

"Growing up here, I learned from a very early age that Los Angeles was a city of opportunities for anyone who had a dream of living a better life for themselves and their families,'' Cedillo said. "I am announcing my candidacy for City Council District 1 because we need bold and experienced leadership to strengthen and protect the `Los Angeles Dream.'''

Term limits prevent the current seatholder, Ed Reyes, from seeking reelection to represent the area stretching from Pico Union northeast through Westlake to Dodger Stadium and through Lincoln Heights to Highland Park.

Reyes' chief of staff--Jose Gardea--has also filed paperwork to raise money to run.

Cedillo was first elected to the State Assembly in 1998, where he served two consecutive terms before moving to the State Senate. He returned to the Assembly for a third term after reaching his term limits in the upper house. 

His Assembly district overlaps heavily with the City Council district he wants to represent, including Chinatown, Echo Park and Highland Park.

Cedillo recently authored the California Dream Act, which allows illegal immigrants access to taxpayer funded education grants.