Actor Val Kilmer has finally confirmed rumors that he’s seriously considering running for governor of New Mexico in 2010.
“There’s sort of a rumor around that I’m maybe thinking about running to be governor of New Mexico? Well, it’s sort of true,” Kilmer was quoted by the New York Post as saying. “It’s been my home 25 years. I really love my state. Poor, hardworking, decent people — Native Americans, carpenters, artists, expats mixed in with hundreds of the world’s smartest physicists at Los Alamos. I’ve always thought of myself as functioning as a candidate for them.”
“… I’m approaching this as a worthy, serious endeavor. I would be very comfortable in my position as a representative for the people,” he said.
Gov. Bill Richardson has told journalists he likes the idea of Kilmer running for governor, and Kilmer pointed that out to the Post.
“People in the state are being supportive. Our current governor, Bill Richardson, who’s hoping to be picked as secretary of state, and whom I’ve seen down in the dirt helping people you know could never help him in return, and whom I love, had a dinner for me and said not to dismiss the idea, said I could be a great governor,” Kilmer said.
Kilmer was speaking by phone from Bulgaria, where he’s filming a movie. Then he’s off to Los Angeles to see his children and then New Mexico “to talk to friends and see what they say.”
“I know I’m not yet qualified for the job. It’s not like I need fame. If that’s what it’s all about, I wouldn’t live in New Mexico,” Kilmer said. “But I don’t want to be a train wreck. I have to see if people will put up the money for my run. I have to think about putting my acting on hold. Being famous as a movie actor is one thing, but they take no prisoners in politics. I have to think what this might do to my kids.”
Kilmer said he also plans to sit down with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to talk about the transition from acting to politics.
Kilmer, a registered Democrat, would have to take on Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, the likely Democratic nominee and possibly already the incumbent if Richardson leaves the state in the coming months to take a job in the Obama administration. It’s no secret that Richardson and Denish haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, and the governor’s comments about a potential Kilmer run fueled rumors that Richardson is looking for someone to take on Denish.
Kilmer has a couple of potential liabilities: A 2003 Rolling Stone article stirred controversy in New Mexico when it quoted Kilmer as saying he lives “in the homicidal capital of the Southwest” and that “80 percent of the people in my county (San Miguel) are drunk.” Kilmer said he was misquoted and some comments were taken out of context.
In addition, before this election, Kilmer had never voted in New Mexico, even though he has been registered here since 1992. Whether he voted last week is unknown.