Secretary of state candidates look ahead to challenge.

Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard

SALEM - The average voter probably can't name Oregon's secretary of state. But among insiders, it's considered one of the best elective offices around.

And with six of those insiders looking at running for the post, it could be one of the top Oregon races of 2008.

Within the secretary of state's variety pack of job duties are two - running the state Audits Division and overseeing elections - that allow him or her to claim the mantles of government watchdog and guardian of democracy, said Portland consultant Mike Greenfield, who helped run the office in the 1990s as deputy to then-Secretary of State Phil Kiesling. It's a resume-building experience for career-minded politicians, he said.

"It's seen as a good-government kind of position," he said. "It certainly beats explaining some other things elected officials have to explain when things go wrong, so it's a good pulpit."

The deadline for candidates to file is still eight months away, but a line is already forming for the 2008 race.

State Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, announced her candidacy the day the Legislature adjourned. Fellow Sen. Kate Brown, a Portland Democrat and the session's majority leader, followed suit this month. And Sens. Brad Avakian, D-Portland, and Rick Metsger, D-Welches, both said they were considering getting into the race for the Democratic nomination.

On the Republican side, Sen. Jason Atkinson of Central Point said he is considering a run for the seat.

According to the buzz in Salem, another possible Republican candidate is Sen. Bruce Starr of Hillsboro, who did not return phone calls to discuss the possibility that he might enter the race.

Add the usual one or two unknowns who enter each party's primary, and 2008 could offer voters the biggest array of choices since 1984. That year saw four Democrats and three Republicans run for their parties' nominations. It was also the last year, until 2008, when the secretary of state race was a wide-open contest, with no incumbent candidate to scare off challengers.

It's not an absolute certainty that the 2008 race will be without an incumbent. Secretary of State Bill Bradbury could step down before his term expires in January, giving Gov. Ted Kulongoski the responsibility of appointing a member of Bradbury's Democratic Party.

That appointee could then run as an incumbent, with the advantages of bragging to voters about having already handled the responsibilities of the position.

That was the scenario that brought Bradbury to office, when he was appointed to replace Kiesling, who resigned in 1999 to pursue a career in the private sector. But Bradbury spokeswoman Mary Conley said Bradbury is staying put.

"He has no plans to leave early," said Conley, whose boss is legally barred from seeking another term.

The secretary of state's race isn't just generating intense interest among candidates.

The two major parties also have a keen desire to have one of their own in the post for the next term. That's primarily because that four-year hitch includes 2011 - the year in which legislative and congressional district lines will be redrawn to reflect population shifts in the previous year's once-a-decade U.S. census.

The Legislature gets first crack at submitting redistricting plans. But if it can't agree on a plan or fails to win the governor's signature for redistricting legislation, the job falls to the secretary of state.

Atkinson brings up redistricting as one of the most important jobs the next secretary of state probably will undertake.

For this Southern Oregon lawmaker, the job isn't sensitive just because of the way it can recalibrate districts' balance of party registrants - making some "safe" districts for one party competitive by removing a registration edge. It's also a role that can become personal, as it was for Atkinson.

His Jacksonville residence was included in another senator's district in Bradbury's 2001 plan, forcing the Republican to choose between challenging an incumbent or moving into the newly formed district he had been assigned. Atkinson moved and now resides in Central Point.

"It was a bad plan," said Atkinson, who vowed to take on redistricting with utmost political and personal fairness if he ends up running for and winning the secretary of state's office.

Given the grab bag of responsibilities that go with the job, candidates are seizing on different aspects as they position themselves for next year's race.

Walker said it's the secretary of state's ability to bolster school finances as a member of the State Lands Board, which oversees the Common School Fund and revenue generated by state lands that feeds into it, that makes the office most attractive. But, she adds, heading up the Audits Division and ensuring state tax dollars are spent wisely is right up her alley, too.

"I'm all about accountability," she said.

Brown cited her qualifications to oversee state elections as a big selling point to the voters. As a committee chairwoman, she led the Legislature's overhaul of how the secretary of state's Elections Division tracks campaign contributions and makes the information available to the public through a Web-based database.

Candidates may not talk much about it while trying to win votes, but there's another aspect of being secretary of state that attracts politicians' attention: using it as a launching pad for the governorship.

When Oregon last saw an open-seat race for secretary of state, the election went to then-state Rep. Barbara Roberts. Being the first Democrat in a century and the second woman in history to win the post was enough of a goal that Roberts said she didn't run for secretary of state with the governorship in mind.

But many have. Eight of the past 13 governor's races have included a former secretary of state. Of those, five were won by a former secretary of state: two each by Mark Hatfield and Tom McCall, and one by Roberts, who came around to see that as a good next career move.

The former governor and secretary of state said she's sure there are those among the most recent crop of declared and possible candidates looking at secretary of state the same way.

"People look at that office and think of it as a steppingstone," she said. `They look at people like Mark Hatfield and Barbara Roberts and think, `Wow. I could do that.' '

SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICIAL DUTIES

Archives: Safekeeping of and making publicly available the official records of state government.

Audits: Independently accounting for how state dollars are spent and investigating whether programs are run correctly.

Elections: Ensuring elections are fair and legal, and enforcing penalties against those who break the rules.

Corporations: Making sure businesses register with the state and updating records about their officers and activities.

Redistricting: After each U.S. census, standing ready to redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries if the Legislature fails on this task.

State Lands Board: Serving with the governor and state treasurer on the board, which oversees the property and assets in the Common School Fund.

More information: www.sos.state.or.us