Setti Warren considering run against Scott Brown

NEWTON
Newton Mayor Setti Warren eyes US Senate run against Scott Brown
Posted by Your Town February 28, 2011 06:41 PM
Globe Staff

Newton Mayor Setti Warren today acknowledged he is considering a run for the US Senate, after Governor Deval Patrick told an out of town political reporter that Warren and two other Massachusetts Democrats "are in, for sure.''

After spending weeks insisting he was focused on his job as mayor of Newton, Warren issued a statement saying he was considering a run against US Senator Scott Brown, a first-term Republican.

“I’m honored that my friend Governor Patrick has mentioned me as a possible candidate for U.S. Senate. I am considering a run against Senator Brown,'' Warren said in a statement. "I have been disappointed by many of his votes, which I believe have hurt many cities and towns in Massachusetts, including my own community of Newton.''

"I’m not yet ready to announce an official decision on entering the race. But in the final analysis, if I believe I can do a better job for Massachusetts, I’ll put my name on the ballot.”

Warren has been in office little more than a year. He has previously said he was focused on his job as mayor of Newton, even as speculation continued that he was a potential Senate candidate.

But governor Patrick, in an interview with National Journal, said he has spoken with four potential candidates -- City Year founder Alan Khazei, Democratic activist Robert Massie, Newton Mayor Setti Warren, and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, the National Journal reported today.

“Kim is not in; she has not made up her mind, but I know she’s thinking about it seriously. But Alan and Bob and Setti are in, for sure,” Patrick told National Journal.

Patrick also said that Robert Pozen, a former aide to Governor Mitt Romney, had been trying to get in touch.

“I haven’t talked to Bob. We’ve traded phone calls, but I haven’t talked to him,” the governor said.

Patrick said US Representative Michael Capuano, another potential candidate against Brown, had not shown his hand.