Felecia Rotellini, Prosecutor on Baptist Foundation Case, Officially Exploring Run For AG

Watch out Andrew Thomas, Tom Horne, and Sam Crump.

And, for that matter, David Lujan really better watch out.

It's not just boys "exploring" a run for Arizona Attorney General anymore. Today, Felecia Rotellini, the former Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions and a longtime prosecutor, announced that she was officially forming an exploratory committee, too.

That could mean trouble, or at least a challenger, for David Lujan, the likable (and telegenic) state representative who'd been the only Democrat in the race until Rotellini's announcement.

but what might seem like bad news to the dudes in the race could be a boon to voters: Unlike most of these guys, and indeed unlike Attorney General Terry Goddard himself, Rotellini appears to have some pretty serious prosecutorial chops.

Now, we're not saying she's a household name or anything. (Quite the contrary.) But Rotellini's resume is pretty impressive.

According to her campaign announcement, Rotellini "led the state's investigation of services provided to the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA) by Arthur Andersen. The result was a global settlement that returned $217 million to BFA investors who had been swindled in a complex Ponzi scheme." She worked as at the attorney general's office from 1992 to 2005.

Rotellini stepped down from superintendent's job just last month. She's currently a lawyer with Zwillinger & Greek -- the same place that employs Bob Lord, who mounted a pretty serious challenge to Congressman John Shadegg last year.

And Rotellini's already got at least part of the Napolitano machine in her corner: Sam Coppersmith, the former congressman and Democratic Party activist, is chairing her exploratory committee.