Phil Angelides

DENVER -- As mentioned earlier, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and DNC Chair Howard Dean addressed the Washington delegation this morning along with Washington Democratic Chair Dwight Pelz and state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), but the star power did not stop there.

Also speaking in attendence was Phil Angelides of the Apollo Alliance, a consortium of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders dedicated to creating a clean energy economy in America. Angelides, the 2006 Democratic nominee for governor of California, spoke highly of Inslee's progress in Congress on behalf of energy projects, and was sure to remind the room that his youngest daughter was currently attending the University of Washington.

DENVER – Former state treasurer Phil Angelides, who  waged a failed 2006 campaign for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger, today was tight-lipped on whether he might seek the same position two years from now.

“I’ve made no decisions. I’ve ruled nothing in and nothing out,” Angelides said as he stood in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

Angelides, who made a fortune in the real estate business, said that he was focused on his current position as head of Apollo Alliance, an organization that promotes the use of clean energy. A race for the Golden State’s top post, he said, wasn’t on his mind.

“There are miles to go between now and 2010,” he said. “That election is a long time off.”

California’s next gubernatorial election is more than 31 months away, but a national Democratic organization already sees the now-Republican seat as a prime target in 2010.

“California is certainly one to look at,” said Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, an independent, Washington-based organization devoted to supporting Democratic gubernatorial incumbents and nominees across the country. “That’s a seat I can see going our way.”