The Bronx is burning again this summer, this time with huge development projects in the pipeline, shrinking unemployment, and rising property values.

The economic progress of the borough, home to some of the most impoverished congressional districts in the country, will no doubt take center stage if the president of the Bronx, Adolfo Carrion Jr., runs to replace Mayor Bloomberg in 2009.

In a recent interview, Mr. Carrion touted his pro-business views, sounded off against the campaign finance legislation Mr. Bloomberg spearheaded, defended himself against critics who say he is too close to developers, and talked about Tom Wolfe’s bestselling novel “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” which is set in the Bronx and marks its 20th anniversary this year.

“I’m not prepared to declare that I’m running for mayor because that is a decision that is still a little time away,” Mr. Carrion, a Democrat who has raised $1 million for the race in the last six months, said.

But Mr. Carrion, who lives on City Island with his wife and four children, said later, “Gracie Mansion is ready for family life again.”

“We have wonderful kids, and I think there should be two dogs running around that house,” he said, before laughing and suggesting his two dogs, Smokey and Blacky, for the part.

Mr. Carrion, 46, could face an uphill battle. He holds a position with far less statutory power than those his presumed opponents and is probably the least known of the top four Democrats expected to run. The others are Rep. Anthony Weiner, who won over a good chunk of the Democratic electorate in the 2006 mayoral race with a scrappy campaign and is already on a fund-raising roll; the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, the first female and openly gay official to hold the office; and the city’s comptroller, William Thompson Jr.

Still, Mr. Carrion cites job growth and construction statistics for the Bronx in much the same way that Mr. Bloomberg does for the city. With the slew of new construction, Mr. Carrion will have a lot of facts and figures to choose from.

Construction is under way on the new Yankee Stadium; a $500 million, roughly 1-million-square-foot shopping center, the Gateway Center; and the $56.7 million Hub Retail and Office Center, which will rise on formerly vacant, city-owned land. The once dilapidated Hunts Point Peninsula in the South Bronx and Boricua College are also being redeveloped.

Also on the rise are property values in the Bronx, which jumped by 27.6% for the most recent fiscal year on record, as well as building permits. According to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, 1,091 private sector construction projects were launched in 2006, an 80% increase over the 605 projects begun in 1996.

The question is whether Mr. Carrion will be able to take credit for the new development, which many say was generated by City Hall and the city’s strong economy.

Like other city residents, Mr. Carrion watched as his predecessor, Fernando Ferrer, fell flat when he tried to knock Mr. Bloomberg out of office in 2006. But that failure does not appear as if it will stop Mr. Carrion from attempting to succeed at what Mr. Ferrer could not — becoming the city’s first Hispanic mayor.

While Mr. Ferrer often attacked Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Carrion has aligned himself with the mayor, particularly on big development projects. He did not, however, shy away from criticizing the so-called pay to play legislation Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Quinn joined together to pass, which caps campaign contributions from those who do business with the city.

“If I were a billionaire 13 times over, I would be able to easily say what he says,” Mr. Carrion said. “I have great respect for Mike Bloomberg. I think he’s been a great mayor, but the suggestion and the implication that political contributions corrupt the process flies in the face of American history from the beginning.”

The Bronx president said that while he believes the attempts to improve the system were sincere he took the politically conservative position that “the free market” should not limit anybody’s participation in the political process.

“It essentially implies that all political contributions and all political activity, unless it’s giving from their household budget, is fundamentally, I don’t want to say corrupt, fundamentally corruptible, and that’s insulting,” he said.

Mr. Carrion has taken some criticism for accepting campaign contributions from developers and for backing projects that faced community opposition, including the Gateway Center, which critics said was a sweetheart deal. Last year, he drew ire when he replaced several community board members after they voted against the Yankee Stadium plan.

A lobbyist who represented the business displaced by the Gateway Center, Richard Lipsky, said that while Mr. Carrion is personable, smart, and bright, he has not done enough to protect local small businesses. Mr. Lipsky also said Mr. Carrion could have a hard time taking credit for the new construction, as City Hall has initiated much of it.

Mr. Carrion said he chalks up opposition to something all decision-makers face. And he seems to be gaining momentum, with his recent installation as president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

As he spoke with The New York Sun, Mr. Carrion waded into both national and local debates, saying the post-Enron legislation that some believe is too burdensome forbusinesses, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, should be “revisited” and that he would likely support changes to city term limits. He did not commit to what changes should be made, but said any term limit proposal would need to be put to another referendum vote.

Like Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Carrion keeps a running count of the years, months, and days he has left in office. Laughing, he said the mayor “stole” the countdown idea from him.

When asked about “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” which depicts the Bronx as an urban disaster, Mr. Carrion took a common view among Bronx officials, saying it was “absolutely” sensationalized. But he said the Bronx is a different place than that of his youth, when crime and drugs were rampant.

“I have seen this city at its worst and at its best, where we are today,” he said. “I simply want to make sure, for the sake of our kids and future generations, that we continue in this direction.”