Ben Westlund at the treasurer announcement

Overdue, in a way, since candidates for the other partisan Oregon statewides of ’08 – secretary of state and attorney general – already are in the field. Maybe it’s an argument that Ben Westlund‘s decision to run for state treasurer (expected for a while, announced this afternoon), leaving behind the legislature where he’s been for a decade, really wasn’t automatic.

Treasurer, most of the time in most places, is a relatively ministerial job. Most times, most places, if you don’t hear about what your state treasurer is up to, that’s good news; if you do hear, the news is apt to be bad. For some political people of a technical bent, that’s good enough. It would seem not for Westlund, who has been among the most productive legislators (not only in Oregon, but in the Northwest) in recent years, on subjects as disparate as health care, environmental protection, support for the arts and renewable energy. His energies, skills and dispositions would seem to fit more nearly something like governor or member of Congress – not so much because they’re “bigger” offices but because their scope is larger and more varied, and they’re more involved with creative policymaking.

But sometimes, the scope is what you make it.

State treasurers – generally, and taking in the three in the Northwest – are mainly money managers, the people who oversee the control and investment of massive funds, often including state tax money, retirement funds and more. As long as a treasurer’s office doesn’t screw up (and all three in the Northwest seem to have done respectable or better work in recent decades), you tend not to hear much about their work.

Westlund’s announcement speech contained a few nuggets about a more ambitious way to look at the office: “It’s the job of the state Treasurer to see that the bigger picture…the long-term vision doesn’t get lost in the small details of the day. . . . I will work to expand financial literacy that helps people make sound choices and save for a home purchase or retirement. I will enhance Oregon’s brand by advocating for local and sustainable business models to build a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable economy. I will look at creative ways we can speed up investments to repair our infrastructure. To help Oregon consumers, I will champion legislation that protects people from unscrupulous lending schemes like payday loans and predatory mortgages that put their financial well-being at risk. As State Treasure I will promote investments in renewable energy to reduce our dependency on foreign and create Oregon jobs. As State Treasurer I will manage the Oregon Health Fund, passed by the 2007 Legislature as part of the Healthy Oregon Act, to help businesses and individuals lower health care costs.”

We’ve seen campaign announcements and speeches by treasurer candidates before, but none that suggested a sense of the office with quite this kind of scope.

It will make for a useful point of comparison. Westlund is the first to announce for treasurer, and at the moment the only major prospect on the scene. Republicans surely would not like to simply cede the office to someone who so recently flipped from their ranks; but they may have to move soon. Westlund’s campaign is evidently seriously underway.

ENDORSER There weren’t a lot of political people at the Westlund announcement at Salem, mainly media and a smallish group of supporters. (The web site does include a longish list of endorsements.) One major endorser was there, though: Governor Ted Kulongoski. And the immediate question was, of course, how he could endorse a candidate (and he made clear this was an endorsement, regardless who else might run) who barely a year ago was running to unseat him.

As predictable was the soon-after question of whether Westlund was plotting another run for governor, in 2010, when Kulongoski will have to retire.

The immediate answers were of some note. The governor said (paraphrased here) that Westlund had been a good ally, and that if he didn’t let political bygones be, he’d be wallowing in enemies. And Westlund said he has no plans to run for governor.

Leaving, still, a good deal unsaid. As for the point in past, Westlund – after dropping his own gubernatorial candidacy – endorsed Kulongoski for re-election, at a critical point. And for the future, Westlund, while denying any specific plans, did not lock any doors behind him.

Skillful politicians in action.