Ted Gatsas, who resigned his state Senate seat last week after being elected mayor of Manchester, endorsed former Republican state representative Terry Pfaff to succeed him yesterday, on the same day Pfaff formally announced his intent to run.

Gatsas said he will serve as Pfaff's campaign chairman.

"Terry knows the landscape, understands the process, and appreciates the complexities of the issues before the state Senate," Gatsas said.

Gatsas and Pfaff previously ran against each other in the 2000 Republican primary for the same seat, with Gatsas wining that race.

Pfaff, 49, lives in Hooksett and is a lieutenant with the Manchester Fire Department, where he has worked as a firefighter since 1982. He served four terms in the New Hampshire House beginning in 1988 and was also chief of staff for the House from 2001 to 2004. He served on the state's Judicial Conduct Committee about 1999-2000 and has also worked in the secretary of state's office.

"I have experience in all three branches of government, the whole skill set to bring to the seat," Pfaff said.

Pfaff said he believes the current economic situation is similar to the one during the early '90s, when he first held elected office.

"We took a whole different approach, pared our spending down to meet what we had for a revenue stream," Pfaff said. "These folks (in the Legislature) want to increase and increase and increase the revenue stream to meet our needs."

Pfaff said he plans to run on a platform of reducing government regulation and on putting people back to work. He also intends to look closely at the state's rule-making process.

Pfaff will face state Rep. David Boutin in a Republican primary. Boutin, a Hooksett town councilor who has served six years in the New Hampshire House, this week announced the endorsement of Executive Councilor Ray Wieczorek, along with several local officials. Boutin previously announced the endorsement of 120 state legislators, including Republican state Sen. Jeb Bradley, House Minority Leader Sherm Packard and former House speaker Doug Scamman.

Told about Gatsas's endorsement, Boutin said, "I have been working on my campaign in the district since May. We have put together a strong grassroots campaign, and I'm going to continue to focus on my race and my issues."

On the Democratic side, state Rep. Jeff Goley is the only declared candidate. Goley, also a Manchester firefighter, is a fifth term legislator from Manchester. Several other Democrats have said they are considering running.

Senate District 16 includes Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, Hooksett and Manchester's Wards 1, 2 and 12.