MAHTOMEDI -- With at least a dozen green ties and his mind on a mission, former state Sen. Steve Kelley kicked off his campaign for governor Monday at a Mahtomedi high school.

The DFLer, who ran for governor, then attorney general in 2006 and for the U.S. Senate in 2000, said he would "be on a mission to ensure that we use the best new ideas to get our neighbors back to work and enable all Minnesotans to succeed" if he wins the governor's race.

Kelley joins a crowded field of nearly two dozen Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates in the open race to replace Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

In his announcement, Kelley acknowledged his opponents. He said 2010 voters won't be thinking about electability, geography or gender politics when they go to the polls: "They're going to ask who will be the best governor. The answer is that I will be the best governor of Minnesota."

Kelley reserved most of his criticism for Republican rivals, who he said see Minnesota's future "narrowly and fearfully" and for Pawlenty, who he called "an absentee governor" whose "primary purpose is self-promotion."

Pawlenty is widely seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2012 and has been traveling the country to forward his ideas. The governor has said his focus is still on Minnesota and his travel has largely been on weekends.

Kelley, who was in the state Legislature from 1992 to 2006 and left as the Senate education committee chair, offered his own ideas for Minnesota's future. Kelley said that as governor, he said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill, refocus health care spending on prevention, spend more on K-12 and higher education and create a "Minnesota Children's Zone," which would offer intensive services to targeted families and children.

Kelley had no cost estimates for his children's zone idea, but said he supports raising taxes and highlighted a proposal to raise a "carbon tax."

Kelley, who has dropped out of previous statewide races when he lost the DFL endorsement, said he hasn't decided yet whether he would do the same if he fails to win the party's nod in April. Kelley won party endorsement for attorney general in 2006, but lost the primary.

As with his previous runs, Kelley's campaign signs feature a color very close to kelly green and his neckties have long reflected that trademark color.

"As I was thinking about running, when the clothing store I frequent has had green ties, I went and grabbed them," he said.