Surrounded by Capitol staffers, members of the press, legislators and others gathered outside the State Capitol today, and with his wife Helen by his side, the mayor of Denver had an announcement to make.

“My name is John Hickenlooper and I want to be your next governor from Colorado,” he said.

Speculation over who would seek the Democratic nomination for governor in the 2010 election began early last week as word got out that Gov. Bill Ritter would not be seeking a second term as governor.  Possible candidates included Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, former Colorado state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, and Colorado U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter among others.  Hickenlooper was on that short list and quickly rose to the top as Salazar and Perlmutter subsequently declined to run.  Fanning the flames of speculation over whether or not the mayor would indeed seek the office of governor was a phone call from President Obama who dialed Hickenlooper on his cell phone as the Denver mayor was on his way to the stock show–urging him to run.

The governor, Democrat legislative leaders, legislators and staffers were standing behind Hickenlooper as he declared his commitment to Colorado and to the Democratic Party.

“I am a Democrat and I’m proud to be a Democrat,” Hickenlooper said to applause.

Hickenlooper admited that running for governor during a recession may not be the best timing but said that after consultation with his family and with Ritter, he felt up to the challenge.

“Sometimes fate has a way of delivering opportunity right when the hill is at its steepest,” said Hickenlooper.

Ritter issued a prepared statement shortly afterward calling Hickenlooper, “a great mayor” who is “going to be a great governor.”

At least one Republican lawmaker was underwhelmed by Hickenlooper’s formal announcement.

“We tried the nice guy from Denver and that didn’t work too well,” said Sen.Greg Brophy, R-Wray.