NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is one step closer to joining the race for governor of New York after filing paperwork with the Board of Elections to create a fundraising committee.

The Democrat filed paperwork last week to creat a committee called New Yorkers for a Fair Future that will allow him to raise funds for a statewide campaign.

De Blasio, whose second and final term as mayor ends Dec. 31, has not formally announced a run for governor but has spoken broadly about wanting to serve New York state.

“I want to continue in public service, and there’s a lot that needs to be fixed in Albany, there’s a lot that needs to be changed in the state of New York,” he said on MSNBC on Tuesday.

He said he looks forward “to being part of the discussion of where our state needs to go in the future.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who took over as governor in August after Andrew Cuomo resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal, announced that she will run for a full term in 2022. State Attorney General Letitia James is also running for the Democratic nomination.

Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island and Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are among those seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

De Blasio, 60, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but failed to break out of a crowded field.