Is John Richardson throwing his hat into the ring?

Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this guy in charge of economic development in Maine?

What's next: Michael Vick for Animal Control Officer?

...or this could be an enterprising web designer hoping to attract Richardson's business.

You mean the creative economy isn't so successful?

Everyone seems to be happy in the pictures.

I bet someones behind will be in a sling once it gets out that the dummy site was found.

It's hard to hide from Google. All I wanted to know was if Richardson had declared yet and this is what came up. Could be another AMG scoop.

John is a personal friend, albeit a quite liberal one. The Legislature, and the ambient economic client couldn't have dealt him a worse hand. "Come for a free ocean voyage -- on the Titanic." Still, it has been "an opportunity" for him.

See it is not his fault ! Thus making him a perfect replacement for JB!

Guys, it's not that big a secret. I've known for a while. And if I know, you know most people know, ya know?

Shouldn't there be a banner ad from American Tourister, given all that "baggage" Richardson has?

Oops, sorry. That's ordinary little people luggage.

Who's that outfit that only makes really pricey leather luggage?

Richardson's in. Announcing 23rd or 24th.

During the time I worked for Mr. Richardson at the DECD, there was an ongoing discussion about his eventual run for Governor. When he hired Pat Eltman to run the Office of Tourism, there were countless internal and external comments about how "she was hired to put Richardson in the Blaine House." Since she had little/no tourism experience before taking that job, perhaps all of those comments were true.

Average Joe - I could have sworn your post read "check out this dummy's website..."

Libby Mitchell is going to have to step up the attention to her coif if she's gonna run against John "PHS" Richardson.

The civility that will be on display as two massive egos clash should be something to behold, although maybe not in the same league as the Billings/Ray Richardson banter of years passed.

What is very interesting to me is the photos. At least 4 of them taken inside what looks like the American Legion post in Augusta and it looks like the pics are mostly of the commissioner presenting plaques to folks during the annual CDBG appreciation events.

I read Mel's post and realized that I had not talked with my good friend Ray in some time so I gave him I call.

Story picked up elsewhere:

http://www.mainepolitics.net/

Richardson is an excellent candidate for Maine Governor. His department cost the taxpayer over $60 million last year and is probably on track to spend even more next year. His results in bringing economic recovery to Maine speak for themselves. Huh!

I was so tempted...

I was curious to see if there had been any updates to the "John Richardson for Governor" website and, oddly enough, it's not there anymore. Interesting. Maybe Town Manager was right.

Since the link to the site in my original post is now dead, here's an image captured by MainePolitics.net:

Perhaps Pat Eltman has decided to campaign for Libby Mitchell instead, so he's decided to throw in the towel? :-)

Okay, it's been a week since the September 24 and no Richardson announcement. But I've googled "John Richardson" Governor (which I would think show an article about him not running in the first few pages if he had explicitly ruled out running) a few times since this thread petered out and haven't seen anything confirming that he was out of the race. I also haven't seen anything here on AMG about him not running (or about him running, for that matter) since the (until now) last post on this thread. Does anyone here have any news on John Richardson's 2010 plans?

John Richardson would make a great governor. I hope he runs as he is a good labor person. I have known John for years and he is a great guy and would make a good governor for labor. Please John run. As for Mark he quit working for him so maybe Mark wasn't putting out enough work for a days pay.

Unionman - bait much?

Point for Naran.

Well, it looks like he's finally done it. I hope he's a day late and a dollar short.

OMG what a surprise - another liberal Democrat in the race for the Blaine House.

Editor’s Note: This item was posted in another thread and moved here by me.

Richardson to announce today

Mon, 11/16/2009 - 9:22am
Posted by Melvin Udall

Word is that John Richardson of Brunswick, former Speaker of the House, and now Commissioner of Economic Development, will announce his run for Governor at 11 am in Brunswick today.

I guess he must have found a way to leave his baggage behind, or is simply ignoring the wishes of party leaders.

###

I've always feared that BNAS Redevelopment would become a plaything to advance his political career, and this pretty much clinches the deal. The only question is the details.

The MRRA meets tomorrow at 4pm at Maine Street Station. One way or another, he'll be on the agenda.

You can watch the meeting on live streaming of Brunswick Cable 3.

Is he on the board by way of his postion as DECD Commissioner or as a private citizen? If the former, he is no longer elliglbe.

Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com

Mr. Richardson has sent out a press release with this address for his website:
http://www.johnrichardsonformaine.com/

Apparently they are not ready yet. As of 1:25pm, it just comes up blank. It has been suggested that this may be his campaign theme.