Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson spoke in Ames Friday night about how she came to be Tom Vilsack’s running mate.

“I kept telling myself, ‘I’m not a politician,'” Pederson said. “I just considered myself to be a citizen until I finally looked up the definition of ‘politician’ in the dictionary — ‘One actively involved in politics.'”

Pederson spoke in the auditorium of the Scheman Building to an audience of about 50 people.

“I heard Tom Vilsack speak, and I believed that he had a wonderful vision for our state,” Pederson said. “I supported him because I was enthusiastic about his candidacy.”

Pederson said Vilsack called her and her husband, James Autry, and asked them what characteristics they thought he should look for in a running mate. By the end of the conversation, Pederson had agreed to let Vilsack put her on a short list of possible running mates.

Pederson said Vilsack then called her one night at a restaurant while she was having dinner with her husband and friends.

Vilsack asked her to interview for the position that night.

“By midnight he had offered me the job,” Pederson said. “That night I was lying on my back on my bed and thinking, ‘Oh my God! What have I done?'”

Pederson grew up in Muscatine and graduated from Iowa State in 1973.

Pederson said her devotion to her 14-year-old autistic son, Ronald, has led her to be the founding president of Homestead, an organization that strives to provide better services for autistic children. She also has served on the State of Iowa Special Education Advisory Board.

Pederson said her campaigning has been comparable to becoming a parent.

“Like having a child, you don’t know how much work, how hard and how much will be required of you as a parent — and if you had, you never would’ve done it,” she said. “But once you have, you never regret it.”

Pederson said one of the most difficult parts of running for lieutenant governor is that “anybody can ask you anytime to defend your beliefs.”

Another difficult part about campaigning, she said, has been spending less time with her son.

“He’d had the attention of his mother for a number of years, and I could no longer give that kind of attention to him,” Pederson said.

She said when her son met Vilsack, Ronald shook his hand and said, “Hi. I just want my mom to be my mom. I don’t want her to be lieutenant governor.”

Since then, Pederson said her son has learned to become more independent and grown up. Now she said he supports her.

Pederson said Ronald demonstrated his support once at church while the congregation was greeting each other. “My son turned around to shake some lady’s hand and said, ‘Hi. Vote for my mom for lieutenant governor,'” Pederson said.