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Other Views: Richardson is right about his office Saturday Feb 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM The Bend Bulletin Dennis Richardson, Oregon's secretary of state, wants the Legislature to make his office a nonpartisan one. There are good reasons for making the shift. The Secretary of State's Office is part of the executive branch of Oregon government. The state constitution requires it to act as record keeper for both the Legislature and executive branch, to act as the state's auditor of public accounts and to keep the state seal. In theory, at least, there's no room for politics in any of those jobs. The secretary of state also plays a key role in redistricting, redrawing the boundary lines for political districts. That's where Oregonians definitely want a less partisan person in charge. Yet, as Phil Keisling, a former Oregon secretary of state, and Sam Reed, a former secretary of state in Washington state, wrote for the Governing website a couple of years ago, the race for the job, if not the job itself, has become increasingly political in the last 40 years. As that has happened, the cost of running for the office has risen dramatically, according to Keisling and Reed. In Oregon in 2016, Democrat Brad Avakian had $2.3 million at his disposal for the campaign, while Republican Richardson had $1.66 million. A nonpartisan office might be less attractive for politicians whose real goal is to run for governor. Meanwhile, given the nature of the secretary of state's job, a partisan office holder put in place after a partisan race could be viewed as taking partisan positions once he or she is elected. Oregonians need to know that elections, which are overseen by the secretary of state's office, are on the up and up. If they believe the office holder is acting unfairly where candidates of the opposition party are concerned, they cannot trust the outcome of elections overseen by the office. Richardson hopes to persuade lawmakers to approve the change. They should do so.