Tick tock John Garamendi

It’s no secret that Lt. Governor John Garamendi has always wanted to be Governor, but at age 63 his biological clock – politically speaking – is ticking away.  If he doesn’t run in 2010 (Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa seem to be ahead of him on line) he may never get another chance. 

Garamendi first ran for Governor in 1982 and lost the Democratic primary to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley by a 61%-25% margin. Gray Davis beat him in a 1986 primary for State Controller.  He won a 1990 race for Insurance Commissioner, and lost his second bid for Governor in 1994 when Kathleen Brown defeated him in the primary, 48%-33%.  He came back and won the Insurance post again – after a stint in the Clinton administration – in 2002.  Garamendi passed on a run for Governor in the 2003 recall, and ran for Lt. Governor in 2006. 

So Garamendi needs to decide what he wants to do in 2010, when he turns 65.  He can win again for Lt. Governor, but if a Democrat wins the governorship, he could be 73 before he has another shot.  Or he can realize that he may never get to be Governor unless he gets into the race.