Economist Farid Khavari, who is running for governor without party affiliation, is a heavy underdog in the race -- and that has not changed with his selection of Darcy Richardson to serve as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Still, the Richardson pick could help Khavari. Richardson, who lives in Jacksonville, is a familiar name to many political activists and junkies in the state. Besides serving as the campaign manager for former U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s independent presidential campaign, Richardson is an expert on third-party politics, having written a multivolume history on them and he also writes in various media outlets.

“Darcy’s wealth of political experience and economic expertise are of inestimable value to this campaign,” said Khavari. “More importantly, they will prove indispensable when we take office next January and begin the job of turning Florida’s economy around.”

There had been some talk that Richardson was planning to run for commissioner of agriculture and consumer services.

The centerpiece of Khavari’s campaign is creating a state bank -- an issue that was also at the core of Brian Moore’s bid against state CFO Alex Sink in the Democratic primary.

“The banking industry’s dirtiest secret is that it’s half ‘socialist,’ and in the worst sense of that word,” said Richardson on Monday. “While privately held at the profit end, it externalizes all the attendant risks to the public. If the people of Florida are going to bear the risks of finance, we contend that they should also reap its benefits.”