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Thursday, September 4, 2003

Governor Denies VP Aspirations

By Loie Fecteau
Journal Politics Writer
    SANTA FE— Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday said he would turn down any offer to be the vice presidential candidate on the 2004 Democratic presidential ticket.
    "I'm not going to accept a spot on the ticket," Richardson said in an interview. "I'm very firm. I'll reiterate it to anyone who asks. I'm committed to run for re-election (as governor in 2006)."
    Richardson, who had hoped to be Al Gore's running mate in 2000, continues to be mentioned in the media and political circles as a likely vice presidential prospect in 2004, despite his having repeatedly said he is not interested.
    "I think Bill Richardson will be asked to be the vice presidential nominee," Gilbert St. Clair, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, said this week. "Richardson is an obvious choice to be on the short list for vice president. He will get a lot of visibility from the debate and all his other activities."
    Richardson, a former New Mexico congressman who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. energy secretary under former President Clinton, said he was frustrated by the continuing speculation about his 2004 political ambitions.
    "But I'm not aspiring to it," Richardson said of the Democratic nomination for vice president. "I'm not pushing it. I am pushing to get national visibility for New Mexico. I am committed to putting our state on the map."
    Richardson has been tapped by Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe to chair the Democratic National Convention in Boston next July when the 2004 Democratic presidential ticket will be selected.
    "I think being chair should be my main occupation," Richardson said. "I think running the convention rules out any spot on the ticket."
    Asked whether he might run for president in 2008, Richardson laughed and said: "I'm planning to run for re-election as governor (in 2006)."