A Madison small business owner and politician filed paperwork Monday to start a bid for lieutenant governor in 2010.
Henry Sanders, who started two non-profit groups geared toward job creation and economic growth in the state called Madison Area Growth Network and Propel Wisconsin Innovation, will be running on the side of the Democrats for the office of lieutenant governor.
“Today marks the first step in my run to represent the people of Wisconsin as lieutenant governor and the first day of our effort to build a brighter economic future for our great state,” Sander said in a statement.
According to Sanders’ campaign website, he has extensive political experience working for U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the city of Madison, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and a workforce development council under the appointment of Gov. Jim Doyle.
Sanders also made a bid for the state Assembly in 2006 against incumbent Rep. David Travis, D-Madison, but lost to Travis in the Democratic primary.
Sanders said in his statement that his goal is to ensure the election of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
“My first priority is to elect Tom Barrett as Governor and ensure he has the right team in place to implement his job creation agenda,” Sanders said. “After that, it’ll be all hands on deck to get Wisconsin’s economy working.”
He added he looks forward to campaigning around the state to hear input and concerns from citizens and inform them of his ideas for economic development.
Milwaukee Ald. Tony Zielinski, District 14, is also running as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and said he does not mind competition.
“I welcome anyone who wants to run and it’s good and healthy for the voters to have more candidates,” Zielinski said. “I look forward to a healthy race to discuss the issues and decide the best actions for the state.”
James Schneider of Gotham also declared his candidacy as a Democrat, and state Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, has said he is considering a run as well.
For the Republicans, Superior Mayor Dave Ross, Lake Geneva businessman Ben Collins and state Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon have filed paperwork for their candidacy for lieutenant governor.
