“Oddest Oregon Secretary of State Election Race”

J. Mapes at the Oregonian in “Four Democrats Compete for State’s Oddest Elected Post” has an interesting take on the Sec’y of State position:

Excerpt from post:

“… The secretary of state’s job is arguably less difficult than serving as state treasurer (who oversees billions of dollars in investment funds) or as attorney general (who is essentially the lawyer for all of state government). The secretary of state oversees elections, audits, the archives, the corporations division and sits on the land board. “Realistically, the job isn’t that terribly important,” one insider familiar with the position told me.

But the secretary of state is also next in line to become governor if something happens to the state’s chief executive. And it’s traditionally been a good platform for running for governor. And the job doesn’t demand a law degree or specialized financial knowledge….”

It sounds to me as if the best person for the job might be a law librarian or other professional (without any political ambition 🙂 who knows how important to the state those departments truly are and wants to make sure the department managers have the tools they need to work at peak service levels. What’s the old song about not knowing what you have until you lose it?