SALEM — Speculation is mounting that former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber will announce this week he’s going to run for an unprecedented third term as Oregon’s top leader.

Kitzhaber is keeping mum for now, but friends believe he’s ready to jump in.
One of them — former state Sen. Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove — said Kitzhaber remains extremely popular with Oregon Democrats who are excited about the prospect of him becoming Oregon’s governor again.

“I’m thinking he will run,” Corcoran said Monday. “John was a very good governor. I think most people genuinely would be happy to have him back in.”
Kitzhaber is a former emergency room physician and state legislator. He made his mark in the governor’s office as a defender of the environment and an advocate for expanded health care.

Under Oregon law, governors are limited to two consecutive terms. So Kitzhaber, who served two terms and then was succeeded by Ted Kulongoski, has the right to run in 2010.

Earlier this year, Kitzhaber was mentioned was as possible candidate for two different Cabinet posts in the Obama administration — interior secretary or health and human services chief. However, Kitzhaber said at the time he would be willing to serve as an adviser to the Obama administration but didn’t want to make a fulltime move from Oregon to Washington, D.C.

For months now, Kitzhaber has made it known to friends and supporters that he might be interested in a return to the Oregon governor’s office.

Steve Marks, Kitzhaber’s former chief of staff and longtime political spokesman, on Monday declined to comment on Kitzhaber’s political plans.

But state Sen. Mark Hass, a Beaverton Democrat, said he’s talked with Kitzhaber several times this summer and thinks the former governor is ready to take the plunge.

“He does sound like a candidate,” Hass said. “I’m hoping he will run. By and large, a majority of Democrats think he’s the guy who has the vision and the background” to be Oregon’s future governor.

Another Democratic heavy-hitter — veteran Congressman Peter DeFazio — also is considering running for governor. But many observers, including Corcoran, the former state senator from Lane County — doubt the DeFazio will give up the seniority and political power he’s amassed in Congress to run for governor.

Other Democrats, including former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and state Rep. Brian Clem of Salem, are thinking of running for governor.

Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said Kitzhaber will be frontrunning candidate, especially if DeFazio decides not to run.

“He’s got a style that most people like — an independent, cowboy boot-wearing kind of guy,” Hibbitts said.

On the Republican side, former state treasurer candidate and high-tech entrepreneur Allen Alley is the only declared candidate for governor, although state Sen. Jason Atkinson of Central Point is expected to announce his candidacy soon.

Republicans haven’t held the office since the 1980s, and Democratic voter registration gains in last year’s elections will make it even more difficult for them to reclaim the office.