Hatch-Miller says he's running in District 5

State Commissioner Jeff Hatch- Miller has decided to enter the race for Congressional District 5, with a formal announcement pegged for the end of the month, Hatch-Miller told PolitickerAZ.com Tuesday night.

Hatch-Miller has begun the formal process of making himself a candidate. On Monday he opened a bank account and deposited the mandatory $100 fee. He has also begun preparing the necessary financial paper work.

A campaign structure is also taking form. A fundraiser is scheduled for January 16, and the campaign intends to raise $350,000 by the end of the month. Meanwhile, potential staff hires are being pinpointed.

Hatch-Miller has determined that to run he will not have to step down from his Commissioner seat. He said he met with the Secretary of State’s office this week to discuss the matter.

Hatch-Miller, a former State Representative who sat on the House Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, will be running for the seat currently held by Democrat Harry Mitchell, who is serving his first term.

“I’ve worked with Mitchell and I have a lot of respect for him,” Hatch-Miller said. “But it’s not about Harry Mitchell. I’m running because I want Congress to get to work.”

Offering a preview of his campaign, Hatch-Miller said he intends to run as a leader who can get things done.

“I have a reputation as a man of action,” he said, adding that Washington had become hobbled by fighting and gridlock.

Hatch-Miller faces an already crowded Republican primary field. Former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert, former lobbyist Jim Ogsbury, and former Rep. Laura Knaparek have entered the race. Rep. State Rep. Mark Anderson and Susan Bitter Smith, the Executive Director of the Arizona Cable Television Communications Association, are also considering a run for the seat.

“I don’t believe (the other candidates) are going to do the job I’m going to do,” Hatch-Miller said. The State Commissioner refused to speak about any one of his opponents specifically. “I believe all the candidates can speak for themselves,” he said.

Hatch-Miller won election to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1999 and served until 2003, when he picked up a seat on the Corporation Commission.

Hatch-Miller says he expects a competitive race for the seat, but that he is confident. He said that he would have the finances necessary to run and had a record of public service that voters would find attractive.

“I have a history of winning races,” he said. “I know how to win.”