Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker announced Wednesday night that he is preparing to run for Arizona governor, signaling to Republican incumbent Jan Brewer that she will not have a free ride, even from her own party.

Parker, an official in both Bush presidential administrations, would be the first black Republican governor, should he be elected.

First he will have to get through what is likely to be a crowded GOP primary. Brewer, who rose from secretary of State to the governor’s post after Democrat Janet Napolitano became Secretary of Homeland Security last winter, has not indicated whether she will seek election to the office in her own right. Even if she does, she is not the clear favorite.