ormer state Senator Warren Tolman, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1998, said yesterday he has decided to run for governor in 2002 and will strictly limit the number of private donations to qualify for public funds under the state's campaign finance reform law.
Tolman, a Watertown resident who strongly backed the Clean Elections Law that voters approved in 1998, said he will make campaign finance a central theme of his candidacy. The law provides substantial public funding for state office-seekers.
''There is a real void for a clean election candidate who will be able to stand up against special interests,'' Tolman said. ''That's a powerful message that will resonate.''
Tolman, a 40-year-old Amherst College graduate who received a law degree from Boston College, said he spent a good part of this year traveling around the state and was encouraged at the response to his potential candidacy.
''People know I have worked the system from within, toughening the ethics laws and reforming campaign finance laws,'' said Tolman, who served as a two-term state senator from Watertown. He was first elected to the Legislature in 1990 and served two terms in the House.
''They also know I have taken on the tobacco industry,'' Tolman said. He sponsored a first-in-the-nation law that requires cigarette makers to disclose the ingredients of tobacco products. The statute is under challenge in the federal court.
Tolman, who now practices law at a firm in Boston, said he will make a formal announcement sometime next year.
