Veteran city councillor Alex Cullen is considering if he'll drop out of the mayor's race to run for re-election in Bay Ward after struggling to raise enough money to run a proper mayoral campaign.

Although Cullen hoped to raise $100,000, he told CTV Ottawa last week his campaign funds are suffering because he won't accept corporate donations. So far, he has raised about $20,000.

Bay Ward candidate Oni Joseph, also known as 'Oni the Haitian Sensation', told CTV Ottawa Cullen called her Sunday to inform her that he was dropping out of the mayor's race, and intended to keep his seat on council.

However, Cullen wouldn't comment on his intentions. Rather, he told reporters they'd have to wait until a news conference scheduled for Tuesday.

"I'm not talking about it. I'm very uncomfortable. Right now, I'm very uncomfortable, OK!" he told reporters who peppered him with questions on Monday.

A candidate who Cullen endorsed in Bay Ward says he feels betrayed by the councillor's sudden about face.

"Stab in the back or stab in the front," said candidate Greg Ross, whose campaign literature features a glowing endorsement from Cullen.

After filing his papers to run for mayor, Cullen said he no longer wanted to represent Bay Ward. Ross told CTV Ottawa Cullen led him to believe he supported him as a successor.

"I believed that he was not going to run here. Period. That he'd made it very clear he wanted to go up or out and now there's a change," said Ross.

Ten candidates are already running for council in Bay Ward. It's believed part of Cullen's motivation is to stop candidate Terry Kilrea from taking the ward.

Mayor Larry O'Brien went to trial over influence peddling charges last summer after Kilrea alleged O'Brien bribed him to leave the 2006 mayor's race in exchange for a position with the National Parole Board. O'Brien was acquitted of the bribery charges last summer.

Cullen has held the seat in Bay Ward since he was first elected in 2001.

Cullen was the first candidate to enter the 2010 mayor's race. His departure would leave incumbent Larry O'Brien, former MPP Jim Watson, and Capital Ward Councillor Clive Doucet as the three front-runners in the race for mayor.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Norman Fetterley