Former governor mulling over run for president
(AP) _ Former Connecticut Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. is again considering a third-party run for the White House.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura encouraged Weicker to offer himself as a Reform Party nominee. Weicker, who also considered running in 1996, said he is interested in the idea.

"All of us who are independents have a common bond, in that we feel that the Republicans and the Democrats have had a monopoly for too long and it's beginning to wear rather thin," Weicker told The Associated Press today.

"It's important to have competition in anything, and you had no political competition for decades," Weicker said.

Weicker, 68, said he expects to make a decision within the next few months, after considering the effect on his family. He has four children ranging in age from 16 to 21, three older children from a previous marriage, and seven grandchildren.

"Whether it's sailing together ... or being together at a family picnic, those are the things that go out the window, and I'm not so sure I want to revert to that," he said.

John Wodele, a spokesman for Ventura, said the governor encouraged Weicker to run during a three-hour meeting in Manhattan last month.

Weicker left the Connecticut governor's office five years ago after a long career in politics. He ran for president once before, in 1980, as a Republican. But he dropped out of the race before the primaries when it became clear Ronald Reagan would win the nomination.

Weicker said he is considering a run in 2000 to encourage a national dialogue on issues such as poverty, children, violence and health care.

"Those are all items that should be the real agenda of this country," he said.

Douglas E. Friedline, who was Ventura's campaign manager and now handles his licensing deals, told The New York Times that Weicker would give the Reform Party a face besides that of Ross Perot.

Perot founded the party and ran as its presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996.

"Perot got us where we are, but now he's a liability," Friedline said. "Governor Ventura feels we need new leadership if we're going to grow."

Although he is well known along the East Coast, it has been more than two decades since Weicker received wide national exposure as a freshman on the Senate committee delving into the Watergate scandal.

While on the committee, he was one of Nixon's fiercest critics, breaking from the GOP ranks by delivering his memorable "Republicans don't cover up" speech.

Weicker spent three terms in the U.S. Senate. He lost in 1988, when fellow Republicans grew so annoyed with his maverick streak that they elected conservative Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman.

In 1990, he left the GOP and formed A Connecticut Party, then won in a three-way race for governor.

The hallmark of his four-year term was the enactment of the state's first-ever income tax. Weicker also tackled other unpopular issues: gun control in a state that is home to Colt's firearms, school desegregation and casino gambling. Weicker opted not to seek a second term.

Weicker said Ventura is a good example of the kind of centrist, independent candidate a third party can offer. Ventura, a former professional wrestler, stunned the political establishment in Minnesota when he won the governor's office last November as a Reform Party candidate.

"You can't go off on the fringes here to bring about a third party. That won't be effective _ left or right," Weicker said.

"Whoever the candidate is, he has to be like Ventura. Ventura won because he was seen as having all his cards on the table."

Weicker said he has made it clear to members of the Reform Party that he would gladly step aside if another strong candidate emerges.

(Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Today's News Page.

WTNH Home Page.

©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT
A LIN station.