State Treasurer mulls bid for governor

Another Democrat’s testing the waters in the race for governor. State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald says he’s talking with supporters, sizing up his chances for the democratic nomination. Fitzgerald had served as treasurer for 22 years, and he says the state’s fiscal condition worries him. “We’re getting away from our solid financial foundation,” Fitzgerald says. He worries the state has to have a balanced budget to move forward, fill its reserve funds, and must recognize that the IPERS pension fund is short by more than two-Billion dollars. “That’s a debt Iowa owes,” he says, “and we have to start dealing with it.” Fitzgerald, who is 53, says he knows he’d be the underdog when it comes to campaign fundraising. “But I always have in every race I’ve been in,” Fitzgerald says. He says it’s part of being a Democrat, and in most all the races he’s been in, the opponents have had more money than he did. He says he can make up for it because he’s been around so long, Iowans know him. Fitzgerald would be joining a crowded field of Democrats — State Senator Ed Fallon of Des Moines has declared he’ll run, and others are considering it, including Secretary of State Chet Culver, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge and Iowa Department of Economic Development director Michael Blouin.