Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher has chosen Jaime Tincher to manage her bid for governor.

This is a minor development, except to the degree that it helps remove some doubts I had been hearing in some DFL circles about whether Anderson Kelliher is committed to running. She is. Although her political stock has declined since the unhappy -- for DFLers -- conclusion of the recent legislative session, A-K remains on the list of five active or likely candidates whom most insiders think have a decent chance of ending up as the DFL 2010 gubernatorial nominee.

I confirmed the choice of Tincher with Speaker A-K Sunday evening. Although she remains an unannounced candidate, the exchange, and the selection of a campaign manager, left little doubt that the speaker is moving forward and not being particularly mysterious about it.

Tincher has until recently been manager of the DFL's Coordinated Campaign. She has given notice to the party that she is leaving that job. She and the speaker have not signed a contract and as a legal matter there is, for now, no Margaret for governor campaign committee.