Williams to make decision on guv race in a few weeks

Democratic primary voters go to the polls to nominate a candidate for governor in less than four months, but state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to decide whether or not he’s going to run.

Williams, who has been making waves in local political circles by suggesting he might jump into the race after businessman Tom Knox jumped out, would have to play an intense game of catch-up if he ultimately makes a go of it. And his public comments have led some to believe that he’d only be in the race to influence the policy debate.

But in an interview with pa2010.com this week, Williams said he thinks he can win. He said he’d make a final decision within a few weeks.

“Since everybody else who’s running is talking about the same thing and I’m talking about something else,” he said, “if I could raise enough money to be on radio and TV in the region, I think I’d have a shot.”

There have been conflicting news reports as to what his intentions are, with some reporting him as playing down a rumor and others saying he’s already preparing a run. Williams emphasized that’s he’s still just considering it, but that it was getting more serious by the day. He also took issue with the emerging narrative that he’s only interested in talking about issues affecting African-Americans.

“Nobody who wants to be governor could be,” he said of an exclusive focus on black issues. “No one who wants to be governor should be. But these issues shouldn’t be overlooked either.”

He said he was interested in cutting taxes and increasing school choice, themes other candidates have also emphasized.

Candidates need to begin circulating nominating petitions in a few weeks, so he only has a bit longer to mull it over. He said much would depend on what kind of fundraising commitments he received in the coming days. There’s not much money in his existing state campaign accounts, he said.

“To be honest,” Williams said, “I’ve been a terrible fundraiser, but [my supporters] have been great.”