This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The best answer to the question is the headline is…“perhaps.”

Conventional wisdom – and, remember, convention it’s not always wrong – is that voters begin paying attention after Labor Day.

Well, it’s after Labor Day.

Not sure everyone is paying attention yet, but, if they were, they would know that, (a) there are three candidates bidding to take over from the current governor, Kate Brown, who is term limited, (b) it is not clear yet who would be favored to win come November, and (b) a third-party candidate has a genuine chance to win this time around.

The candidates are:

• Christine Drazan, the Republican
• Tina Kotek, the Democrat
• Betsy Johnson, the Independent

All are veterans of state government in one way or the other.  Drazan was most recently Republican Leader in the Oregon House; Kotek was the long-standing Speaker of the Oregon House; and Johnson was a long-serving Democrat in the Oregon Senate.  All resigned from those jobs to run for governor.

The Salem Statesman-Journal carried an interesting article yesterday asking each candidate what the biggest problem is in state government and what they would do first to fix it, if they got elected.  Here are excerpts of their answers:

Tina Kotek:  “We need to hold all levels of government accountable for delivering on the promises they make.  That will require breaking down silos and increasing communication among federal, state, and local leaders so we can actually work together to tackle our biggest challenges.

“The biggest problem in state government right now is that agencies can’t get grant money out the door fast enough to the organizations who want to help people, specifically Measure 110 resources to help people suffering from addiction.  I will fix this by installing new leadership, streamlining contracting practices, and keeping a close eye on outcomes.”

Christine Drazan:  “I find it ironic that my two opponents are suddenly extraordinarily critical of our state government.  They have been in positions of extreme power for the past decade.  If they felt like things were broken, why didn’t they do something about it?

“We need to rebuild our state agencies from the ground up.  I will fire Kate Brown’s agency heads and appoint leadership that shares my commitment to customer service, transparency, and accountability to the people of

Betsy Johnson:  “The two parties, dominated by their ideological extremes, would rather fight than find common ground.  I will take the best ideas and best people from both parties to move us forward.  I will demand bi-partisan support for legislation, budgets, and appointments.  No longer will one party run roughshod over the other.  Diverse voices will be included — no matter your politics or zip code.”

I’ll let you be the judge of these answers.  But I do hope – and, for my part, intend – to keep my eyes and ears open as the campaigns take more shape.

Well, there is at least one group that is paying attention to the race.  The Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) dropped another $1 million into Drazan’s campaign a day or so ago, thus bringing the total up to $2.6 million.  In other words, the RGA believes Drazan has a chance to win and, if she does, she would be first Republican governor since Vic Atiyeh more than 35 years ago.

Meanwhile, the Kotek and Johnson campaigns continue to raise campaign cash, including a large campaign from Nike’s Phil Knight to Johnson. Kotek’s go-to source is Oregon’s public employee unions.

I also wish there would soon be an independent poll conducted by a reputable pollster that would give us a handle on the race – at least for a horserace perspective.  So far, all we have are polls conducted by one side, or the other, or the other.  Nothing on which to rely.

But, then, of course, the most reliable course for all of us is to focus on how to vote and then vote that way, no matter what advance polls say.  The best poll is the one taken at the election.

And this footnote:  The intention, announced above by one candidate, to fire state agency heads may sound good and it is may actually be smart politically in some quarters.  But, the fact is that agency heads and their key deputies serve “at the pleasure” of any governor, so their resignation letters, figurately at least, are in the governor’s desk drawer at all times.

At one point, with my resignation “in his desk,” a new governor fired me when I was deputy director of the Oregon Economic Development many years ago.  I moved on.

I do wish that, in a new gubernatorial administration, existing agency heads would be exposed to tough questions by a new governor and her top staff, and then, (a) if they passed, (b) if their previous service records were generally acceptable, and (c) if they indicated they would be pleased to work in the new administration, they then would have a chance to keep their jobs.  Quality experience matters.

So, start watching as the Oregon gubernatorial sweepstakes continues.