When I last spoke to Mr Simon, he was under the impression that the selection procedure would get underway this May, giving the successful candidate two years to campaign before the 2013 mayoral election.
All of the three main political parties now appear likely to delay selecting their candiate until after the referendum, largely on the practical grounds that Birmingham might not vote in favour of having a mayor - in which case the city council is free, if it wishes, to ditch the cabinet and return to an old-style committee system.
It is difficult to say whether Mr Simon's early tilt at the mayoral prize will turn out to be wise.
On the plus side, he will have had two or more years to get his name known before any selection procedure begins. But on the down side, he might come to be seen by party members as the man who was a little too confident and jumped the gun.
From my discussions with party insiders, Labour fully expects the final run-off for mayoral candidate to be between Mr Simon and Sir Albert Bore, the leader of the city council's opposition Labour group.
As things stand, under the Localism Bill passing through Parliament, Tory city council leader Mike Whitby will become Shadow Mayor at the end of the year and will remain in that position if the referendum delivers a yes vote until the mayoral election in May 2013.
So even if Labour becomes the largest political group on the council in May 2012, Coun Whitby will continue to be mayor thereby denying Sir Albert a year of grabbing the headlines.