(New York City) Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld has ended months of speculation and confirmed he's running for the GOP nomination for Governor of New York.

If he is successful and wins the gubernatorial race Weld would be only the second person in American history to have been governor of two states.  The other was Sam Houston who was governor of Tennessee from 1827 to 1829 and Texas from 1859 to 1861.

"My juices are really flowing for this race, and I want to return to public service," Weld told the New York Times in a telephone interview on a business trip in Kentucky.

But, Weld's shifting position on same-sex marriage is not likely to win him support from either the Conservative Party - a necessity to get the nomination - or from the state's gay political machine.

The millionaire lawyer was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1990 and easily re-elected in 1994. He ran for U.S. Senate in 1996 but was defeated by Democratic incumbent John Kerry. Weld resigned as governor in 1997 when then-President Clinton nominated him to become U.S. ambassador to Mexico, but the nomination was blocked in the Senate.

Weld moved back to his native New York in 2000 and is a partner in an investment firm.

In 2004, after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down the ban on same-sex marriage, Weld urged Massachusetts lawmakers to accept gay marriage, rather than civil unions, as the only way to legally comply with the court ruling.

In June he officiated at the gay marriage in Boston of his old college roommate. (story)  

Last August at the GOP National Convention Weld was still promoting same-sex marriage. (story) "The recognition of gay marriage, as the Massachusetts Supreme Court has done, is the conservative point of view," Weld told Log Cabin Republicans.

But, this week, seeking the support of the Conservative Party, Weld changed his position telling Republicans he is opposed to gay marriage.

He confirmed his new position to the Times, saying that while he favored gay marriage in Massachusetts as the only way to legally comply with an order from the state's top court, other states, including New York, should offer civil unions instead.

Gay rights advocates and Democrats were quick to jump on the issue.

"His recent statements represent a complete and disappointing reversal of his original position," said Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle.

"The freedom to marry is about equality and New Yorkers are passionate about equality. Governor Weld indicates that New Yorker’s are not ready for same sex couples to have the right to marry but our polling tells us otherwise."

"Flip-flopping and pandering to New York conservatives is no way to begin a gubernatorial campaign," said Democratic strategist Howard Wolfson.

Weld's newly found opposition to gay marriage is likely to come up on Sunday when he co-hosts a Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth fundraiser in Bellport.

But, while Democrats and gays are angry, Conservatives are not embracing Weld either.

Despite having the support of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the powerful Senate Majority Leader, Joseph Bruno is far from jumping on any Weld GOP bandwaggon.

A leading member of the Conservative Party, Bruno is miffed that Weld did not advise him in advance that he is running.

"If you were thinking of running for governor of New York State, would you make a phone call?" Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno told reporters.

"I've never heard from him. I don't know ... what he's doing, or what he's about, or where he lives. You know, if I haven't heard from him, he's not going to hear from me."

Bruno and other Conservatives reportedly believe Weld is too liberal and too gay-friendly to get their support.

So far State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is the only Democrat seeking his party's nomination for Governor. Spitzer is already on record as supporting same-sex marriage, a position that is likely to earn him the coveted Pride Agenda endorsement.