Civil Rights Enforcer Looking Into Running for Massachussetts Governor

Deval Patrick, one of the country's pre-eminent civil rights enforcers, is setting in motion plans to run for governor of Massachusetts. Patrick, who recently left his job as the cheif legal counsel at Coca-Cola, served as Bill Clinton's assistant attorney general in charge of civil rights. He also has worked for the NAACP and Texaco. Deval Patrick would also be the first African-American ever to run for governor in Massachusetts from a major political party. He was born in Chicago, but has been a Massachusetts resident since graduating from Harvard Law School. His wife and two children live in Milton, Massachusetts. Problems may arise in his campaign because Patrick has no political experience. The current Democratic front runner, Tom Reilly has already raised 2.2 million dollars and the sitting Republican governor Mitt Romney is rumored to have a much larger warchest. Patrick has reached out to Senator Edward Kennedy and ex-governor and Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. He said their reaction was "very enthusiastic." [more]