Paul Soglin might have imagined himself as a gubernatorial candidate at one point or another on the long strange trip that has been his political career. But the former Madison mayor, who has been out of office for more than a dozen years, has scrupulously avoided the lure of electoral politics since his narrow defeat in a 2003 comeback bid.
So why did Soglin declare last week that “if there is no viable Democratic gubernatorial candidate by Thanksgiving, I will announce my candidacy on Dec. 1, 2009”?
(Soglin is an adjunct associate professor in the LaFollette School of Public Affairs)