Lynne Abraham had been out of public office for all of five minutes last January when people started whispering about her.
Rumor had it that after serving as Philadelphia's district attorney for 19 years, she had already set her sights on running for a bigger prize: state attorney general.
Abraham, 70, deftly batted the rumors aside, and settled into a lower profile as an attorney at the Center City law firm Archer & Greiner.
And that was that. Until this week.
Moments after speaking to folks at a Northeast Philadelphia community center on Thursday, Abraham told KYW (1060-AM) that she wouldn't turn down the chance to run for attorney general in 2012 if it came her way.
"Yes, it is something I'm considering," she told the Daily News yesterday.
"I'm not making any announcements. I'm just looking at all the options . . . and waiting to see how things go."
Abraham declined to say if she's been approached by Democratic Party leaders about running next year to take over the job that was most recently held by Gov. Corbett.
Corbett's deputy, William H. Ryan Jr., became the acting state attorney general when Corbett was sworn in as governor in January.
Corbett has since nominated Linda Kelly, a former Allegheny assistant district attorney, to take his place. The state Senate is expected to hold confirmation hearings on the nomination next month.
Kelly has already pledged not to run for election next year if she finishes out Corbett's term.
"I love public service," Abraham said. "If there's a new and unique way I think I can use my talents, I'd be open to it."
If she does make a run for state attorney general, she would be chasing history: A Democrat has never won the office since it was made an electable position in 1980.
In the meantime, Abraham said she's enjoying the work she's doing at Archer & Greiner, where she's handled everything from real-estate matters to appellate work.
"Let's see how the fate lines run," she said.
