LYNCH

PROVIDENCE –– Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch made the rounds of several media outlets Friday saying he has “every intention” of having his name on the ballot in a run for governor in 2010.

But after making the same statement in several different venues — including an interview with The Providence Journal and an appearance on the WPRO talk show hosted by former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. — Lynch insisted that he has said much the same thing over the last several months and that none of his remarks constitutes a declaration of candidacy, which will come at some future date.

As to why he plans to run, Lynch noted that the state Constitution bars him from running for a third term as attorney general. He said that although his name has surfaced for a “host of things,” his heart isn’t in taking a job with the Obama administration or seeking any other office other than governor.

“There are no other options or considerations for me.”

He bristled at suggestions that he aspires to the governor’s office out of a sense of entitlement, insisting that he wants to run “because I do appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to serve the public.”

As for specific proposals and pledges, all of that will come later, he said. “I think there will be a time and a place for us to vet that fully. What is more important now is that I continue to do my job, as what I did today, making sure that [convicted murderer] Freddie Bishop is forever locked away in prison and can’t hurt anybody else in Rhode Island, and that those who play with child porn are rooted out with technology that I brought into the state.

He added: “I will show that I’ve always dealt with my job very seriously and stood up for the people in an unwavering fashion. I think that type of leadership is what is needed in these very challenging times and those that still lie ahead of us.”

One of the more curious aspects related to a run by Lynch was the recent disclosure by his brother, William Lynch, the Democratic state chairman, that he is seriously considering a campaign of his own to become the next attorney general.

In interviews Friday, Patrick Lynch fended off questions as to whether he would want to see his brother running for attorney general while he is running for governor.

Whether such a thing happens is hypothetical, he said. As to whether he thinks it would be a “good thing” or a “bad thing” for the two to be running at once, the attorney general acknowledged, “I’m not sure it would be a good thing.”

But it wouldn’t be up to him, he said. “My brother hasn’t made a decision, and if it does happen it would be up to the people of Rhode Island to decide.”

Lynch also took aim at critics who said Friday that as the state’s top law-enforcement officer he should not have gone on a radio talk show with Cianci, because of his prison record.

WPRO is a respectable news station and Cianci’s program has a large audience, he said. “I have gone on there on numerous occasions to make announcements.”

rdujardi@projo.com