Window Rock Democrat Chris Deschene announced Wednesday that he will file paperwork to form an exploratory committee for a possible run for Secretary of State.
The office is Arizona's second highest and is currently held by Republican Ken Bennett, who is expected to run for reelection.
Described in his House of Representatives bio as a "community organizer at heart," Deschene says in a statement he is running to transform the office into something more than just storage space for government documents.
Deschene says the office should be used to criticize broader state-related issues.
"Those challenges are not going to wait for people to get done with their political fighting," he says. "We either get our state moving forward again or we hand off to our kids an Arizona that can't deliver a quality education and can't provide job opportunities for people who want to earn an honest living."
Arizona's Secretary of State assumes the governorship if the sitting governor is unable to stay in office -- the state certainly has a rich history in this regard.
Arizona's current unelected governor, Jan Brewer, ascended to the throne after Janet Napolitano joined the Obama administration. Rose Moffard got the nod when Evan Mecham was impeached, and Jane Hull got the bump after Fife Symington was convicted on fraud charges.
Governor Deschene? If elected, recent history is on his side.
