DENVER—Former Mayor Wellington Webb says he signed on to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign because he thinks the New York senator, more than any of the other Democratic hopefuls, has the experience to help her lead the country.
“As an American citizen, my main concern is who has the ability, the capacity to move this country in a different direction immediately,” Webb said Tuesday.
Clinton’s campaign announced Monday that Webb would serve as one of several national co-chairs advising the campaign.
Webb said he admires Clinton’s rival, Sen. Barack Obama, and is friendly with other Democratic candidates including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Chris Dodd. Webb, who is black, said he made his decision based on who had the best ability to govern the country and said neither race nor gender, nor his strong support for former President Bill Clinton, was a factor.
“In the West, we support the people that we think have the best capacity to do the job,” said Webb, who served as mayor for 12 years.
Another former Denver mayor, Federico Pena, is serving as a co-chairman of Obama’s campaign. Webb will serve as a Clinton campaign co-chair with about a dozen other lawmakers and officials including New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui of California. Clinton spokesman Isaac Baker said Webb, former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is the first co-chair from the mountain West, and the campaign valued his expertise both in the region and on urban issues.
On the Republican side, former Gov. Bill Owens, Sen. Wayne Allard and Attorney General John Suthers have taken on honorary leadership roles with Mitt Romney’s campaign. Independent pollster Floyd Ciruli said the GOP race is still more wide open than the Democratic race which may prevent more politicians from issuing endorsements now.
He said handing out co-chair jobs to state and municipal lawmakers help campaigns build support among party faithful during the primary season and he said co-chairs can be assured a good seat near their candidate at the convention. Later, if the candidates are successful, he said, they could also be in a good position to recommend people for jobs in the administration.
Ciruli said the endorsements by Webb and Pena shouldn’t be a surprise. Even though Pena served in two cabinet positions under President Clinton, Ciruli said he was a relative political newcomer when he was elected mayor so it makes sense that he would align himself with the “outsider” candidacy of Obama. Ciruli said Webb, a former state lawmaker and city auditor, has been more active in the national Democratic Party and more aligned with the “pragmatic” branch of the party.
“I think the choices fit both their political careers and temperaments,” Ciruli said.
