Allred looking at governor’s race

Keith Allred, founder of the non-partisan The Common Interest citizen group in Idaho and a Harvard professor and mediator, is expected to file initial paperwork today to begin exploring a run for governor of Idaho as a Democrat. “He is not a candidate because he hasn’t filed his C1 yet,” said Betty Richardson, chair of the Idaho Democratic Party’s candidate recruitment committee. “However, I would expect that a filing will take place later today.”

Richardson said she’d been talking with Allred and his wife, Christine, “rather intensely” for the past two weeks. “Over the last five months since the committee was formed, we talked to a number of individuals, and I think we got the best person we could possibly get to be on the brink of throwing his hat into the ring. There will be others, and the voters will decide who the nominee is at the time of the primary election. But speaking for myself right now, I do think Keith will make a simply outstanding candidate and a tremendous governor.”

Allred couldn’t immediately be reached for comment; no paperwork has yet been filed, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s office. Allred has made a name for himself in Idaho politics as a neutral, nonpartisan voice who brought together people from all sides to work on public-interest issues, from reforming Idaho’s primary election system to open meetings. Said Richardson, “I’ve never recruited somebody who I didn’t think could do a great job if they were elected, and in this instance I feel such a sense of certainty. … I’m very hopeful. I really love this state and I want to see that it has good leadership, and I think Keith can provide the leadership it is currently lacking in the governor’s office.” Reporter Jill Kuraitis of NewWest.net broke the news this morning; here’s a link to her full story .