CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A pending trial on felony perjury charges won't stop a Chula Vista councilman from seeking re-election this June, it was reported Thursday.

Chula Vista Councilman Steve Castaneda told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he is putting together a campaign committee in hopes of another term.

Castaneda is accused of lying under oath about his personal interest in a controversial condominium conversion project and is scheduled to go on trial April 7, according to the newspaper.

He was a renter at the Sunbow Villas apartment complex when its owners decided to seek a conversion that the council would have to approve. Prosecutors believe Castaneda lied when he said repeatedly he was not considering buying a unit, which would have been a conflict of interest, the Union-Tribune reported.

He was originally set to go on trial in September but the trial date was pushed back twice before being scheduled for April. His attorney, Marc Carlos, hopes to have charges dismissed before then, the Union-Tribune reported.

At a hearing on March 11, a judge will consider a motion from Carlos asking for the 13 felony perjury charges facing Castaneda to be dismissed.

Carlos plans to argue that prosecutors never told Castaneda during the investigation that he was a suspect and that his statements in the case were unfairly obtained, the Union-Tribune reported.

Castaneda has said in the past that the charges are politically motivated. He accused San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis of ordering the investigation into his statements as a favor to Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, whom Castaneda challenged in the June 2006 mayoral primary, the Union-Tribune reported. Dumanis has declined to respond.

Ultimately, Castaneda did not buy a condo at the converted Sunbow Villas, the Union-Tribune reported.

Two people are challenging his re-election bid -- Pat Moriarty, a health care professional, and Scott Vinson, a planning commissioner and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Royal Realty.