Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton's decision not to run for governor after all removes a local element and leaves the 2010 gubernatorial campaign in uncertainty.

It's good for a community to have "one of our own" in visible state positions. Not since John Reynolds was governor from 1963 to 1965 had someone from Green Bay served at that level. Lawton's soft-spoken and friendly demeanor is unusual in a politician and can be disarming to political opponents, a trait she uses to better advantage than her detractors realize.

With a bit more than a year left in her tenure, she has done a decent job as lieutenant governor, especially considering that Gov. Jim Doyle still makes it clear that she wasn't his first choice for the position. She was an early and frequent proponent of women's rights and the "green" economy, recruiting more than 100 school districts to participate in the EnergyStar conservation challenge.

She embraced her role as chairwoman of the Wisconsin Arts Board, and the film tax credit made the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies" a temporary cottage industry in Wisconsin. Just a week ago she stood with other leaders to encourage public funding of state Supreme Court elections, the "Impartial Justice Bill."

Lawton represents a significantly left-of-center wing of the Democratic Party and would have represented a clear alternative to either of the two major Republicans candidates to date, Scott Walker and Mark Neumann.

This would have been the fourth statewide race in 12 years for Lawton, who was Ed Garvey's running mate when he ran against Gov. Tommy Thompson in 1998. This was to be her chance to define herself independent of the running-mate role.

But then a week ago, Lawton surprised almost everyone by announcing she would not run after all, citing "very personal reasons."

Within hours, Green Bay talk-show host Jerry Bader posted a podcast with salacious speculation about those reasons, citing "multiple sources in Madison" and repeating no less than three times, "I am reporting this factually."

Today he begins what will be at least a two-week suspension from the airwaves after learning a serious lesson about actual fact-checking and trusting confidential sources.

To be victimized by that level of mud-slinging had to hurt; for it to come from someone in her hometown cut deeper.

Although we disagree on many issues, we have always liked and respected Barbara Lawton, and probably more so than some of her fellow Democrats.

Having a lieutenant governor from Green Bay has been good for the community.

And her legacy of dedicated public service will long outlast her detractors.

Click below to read the article at the Green Bay Press Gazette:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091102/GPG0602/911020504

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