Arizona: Pederson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Jim Pederson, former Arizona Democratic Party chairman and a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, has been "exploring" running for governor.

Pederson tests the waters with this recent guest opinion in the East Valley Tribune Pursue better choices for state budget

By Jim Pederson, Commentary – 4.18.09

I cannot stand quietly by and only watch what is happening to Arizona. It is time to speak out.

Barely three years ago, we were talking about Arizona’s future, its spectacular growth potential and how we would best manage and leverage that growth. We were talking about transportation, better jobs and more jobs in important growth sectors: high-tech, bio-tech, innovation, science and sustainability.

In all the recriminations among party activists about the decision to hire a “head hunter” to help out with the search for an executive director, folks have missed out on a small but important sign for the next two years of the party.

In my post about the hiring of the firm, I think I left the impression that Jim Pederson pushed for this move as a way to keep Terry Goddard from having total control of the party. That is not entirely the case. Both Goddard and Pederson supported this move. I think that’s a good sign for the way they will be running their probable race against each other next year.