Allen Weh can begin raising money to run for governor after he announced today that he’s forming what he’s calling an “exploratory committee” as he considers jumping into the 2010 race.
“We need to clean up the corruption in Santa Fe. We need to save jobs and make jobs, and move New Mexico in a better direction,” Weh said in a news release sent shortly after he held a news conference in Albuquerque to announce the formation of the committee.
Weh, the former chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said in the release that he is taking a “long, hard look at this race.” He was joined at the news conference by members of his family, former U.S. Rep. and Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr., former Albuquerque City Council President Vickie Perea and several leaders in the business community.
Today’s announcement wasn’t a surprise. Weh said in February that he planned to form an exploratory committee soon after the legislative session ended in March.
As the GOP chairman, Weh developed a reputation for being able to raise lots of cash for Republicans. Lujan said in Weh’s news release that the potential gubernatorial candidate “has the right qualifications to be governor. He is a straightforward businessman and a proven leader.”
Not surprisingly, Brian Colón, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, had a different take.
“Weh’s tenure as head of the Republican Party consisted of intense infighting, contested and nasty primaries and catastrophic loses,” Colón said. “Why should New Mexicans think he’ll do any better in the Roundhouse? Once again it appears we will see the circular firing squad that is the Republican Party of New Mexico at work during the 2010 primary.”
Weh is the chief executive officer of CSI Aviation Services and a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel. He holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of New Mexico. He’s married and has three children and four grandchildren.
The other Republican who has already jumped into the gubernatorial race is Greg Zanetti, an Albuquerque financial adviser and New Mexico National Guard brigadier general. On the Democratic side, the only announced 2010 candidate for governor is Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.