Lt. Governor John Garamendi

Democratic Lt. Governor John Garamendi ended all the speculation this morning at a job training center in Concord and officially announced his plans to seek the seat of outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo.

I’ve posted below a short video clip from the press conference this morning along with some interesting tidbits that I didn’t have room to include in the story for tomorrow’s print editions. (Forgive the odd angle of the video. I was sitting on the floor beneath the television cameras. Lord love a duck, how I hate press conferences.)

Garamendi’s entry into the CD10 fray is interesting on so many fronts.

For one, it will almost certainly provide the early Democratic frontrunner, state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, with the first serious political fight of his political career. He won the state Senate race with no primary challenger and only a nominal Republican in the general election.

Garamendi and DeSaulnier have already started sparring.

Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord

DeSaulnier’s people took pains to point out earlier in the day that Garamendi doesn’t live in the 10th congressional district. They want to paint Garamendi as an opportunistic carpet-bagger who has dumped his faltering gubernatorial bid in exchange for a congressional consolation prize.

But in a weird gerrymandering way, it appears that the boundary between District 10 and District 3 actually bisects Garamendi’s Walnut Grove property. (There is no legal requirement that a member of Congress live in his or her district but it helps.)

“My front yard is in District 10 but my bedroom is not,” Garamendi said. “Patti (his wife) and I have talked about moving our bedroom down to the (boat) dock.”

Garamendi also challenged the presumption that DeSaulnier has a lock on labor support. DeSaulnier has already secured endorsements from the Contra Costa Central Labor Council and the Contra Costa Building Trades.

The lieutenant governor promised he would make an announcement very soon of “extraordinary labor support … the major labor unions are not with Mark.”

Sources say Garamendi will receive support of international union leaders, which could prove very interesting if the labor groups split their endorsements between their D.C. offices and the local chapters. (Update at 6:54 p.m. A source with knowledge in this area notes that endorsements mean different things based on the level of the union group. International labor leaders control federal PACs, which can contribute money to candidates. State and local labor groups typically don’t have federal PACs and while their members can contribute individually to candidates, these local groups more often provide a candidate with boots on the ground to help get out the vote and do precinct outreach.)

I also had a chance to chat with Patti Garamendi, John’s wife of 43 years. She has been at his side for every campaign launch and she says she is excited about her husband’s new opporunity.

“The work going on in Washington, D.C., right now is so exciting,” Patti said. “And we have so many great relationships there. We were talking on the phone the other night with Nancy (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) … and she was saying, ‘John, we’ve known each other 30 years. We raised our children together. How many grandchildren do you have?’ ” (The Garamendis have nine; Pelosi has eight with a ninth on the way.)

John and Patti dismissed the idea that Tauscher’s endorsement of DeSaulnier will impede his chances for election, or that it reflects a rift in their relationship with the incumbent congresswoman. John campaigned in Tauscher’s first election and the three remain friends, Patti said.

Garamendi even argued during the press conference that Tauscher’s endorsement is useful only until she is confirmed.

“The moment she is confirmed, she cannot endorse nor can her endorsement be used,” Garamendi said. “Those are the rules at the State Department.”

As for Rep. George Miller’s endorsement of DeSaulnier, Garamendi said Miller “didn’t know I was interested. Plain and simple. He and Ellen moved early to support Mark. And Mark is a good guy. That is what happened.”

Here’s a video clip, which is a small portion of his announcement: