Labor attorney Tony Gill said yesterday he would not run for governor next year.

Gill had said in an interview Friday that he was seriously considering a campaign and had set no timetable for a decision. A committee of Democratic activists had formed last week to encourage Gill to challenge Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.

"I'm not the candidate for this term," Gill said yesterday. "It's very important that the best feasible challenger go up against Linda Lingle. I believe she's vulnerable and I believe that a correctly run campaign can defeat her. I think she has serious liabilities that her supporters have not acknowledged.

"That said, you've got to get the right horse. It's a little tough to reach down into the second string and pull out somebody like me."

Gill also said it would be difficult for him financially to take time away from his job to campaign over the next several months.

Herbert Ikazaki, the co-chair of the committee to back Gill, said he was disappointed. "I believe he would have been a good candidate against Lingle," he said.

"Tony's leadership style speaks from the heart and reaches everyone," said Tom Brower, communications director for the Democratic Party of Hawai'i.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.