A Roseburg native who went on to become an orthopedic surgeon in Bend kicked off his campaign for secretary of state Wednesday saying he wants to bring his drive and energy to state government.

Republican Knute Buehler, 47, who played on Roseburg High School's 1981 state champion football team his senior year and played baseball at Oregon State University before becoming the school's first Rhodes Scholar, said he believes he can break the Democratic hold on statewide elected offices.

“What Oregon needs is a fresh, energetic, transforming new leader with experience from outside government,” Buehler told an audience of 25 people gathered inside the Ford Community Room at the Douglas County Library. “Oregon needs someone who will push past the partisan divide, a pragmatic leader who will help get the gears of government working efficiently, working together and working for the benefit of all Oregonians.”

Buehler also announced his candidacy Wednesday in Portland and was scheduled to make announcements today in Eugene, Medford and Bend.

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Kate Brown, a former veteran legislator from Portland who served as Senate majority leader, is seeking a second term. Besides the two announced candidates, the race also features Grants Pass truck driver Randy Pollock, a Republican, and Newberg design engineer Paul Wells, a Democrat.

The secretary of state manages state elections, oversees the Corporation Division and conducts audits of state agency. The secretary also serves on the State Land Board with the governor and treasurer.

Buehler made a splash within the Republican Party over the summer and fall as he quickly amassed $161,000 in campaign contributions. He also loaned his campaign $30,000. So far, he has spent $40,250, according to state campaign finance records.

Brown has collected $75,462 since her election in 2008 and has spent $51,309. During the 2008 campaign, she spent $1.1 million in defeating former Eugene television anchor Rick Dancer by 88,228 votes.

While Republicans made strides in the Oregon Legislature last year, earning a tie in the House and reducing the Democratic majority in the Senate, they have been unable to increase their presence in statewide elected positions and in congressional representation. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden of Hood River is the lone Republican among those positions.

In the past 20 years, there has been a steady erosion in the standard of living across the state, said Buehler, who was joined for the Roseburg announcement by his wife, Patty, an ophthalmologist, and his parents, Roseburg residents Werner and Dollie Buehler.

The decline can be measured in terms of family income, high school graduation rates or in the “the number of spotted owls in our pristine forests,” Buehler said.

Oregon ranks near the bottom in terms of economic health and the number of residents who go hungry, Buehler said, while the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation.

“It hasn't always been like this. In the past, our state was nationally admired for good policies, such things as the bottle bill, the beach bill, the Oregon Health Plan,” Buehler said. “Now it's not uncommon for Oregon, which once was the shining light of good government in the West, to be mocked by political observers for poor political decisions.”

Buehler doesn't have any political experience.

“When the need and the challenges are the greatest, that's the best time for new leaders to emerge and renew our institutions. That's the point we're at right now,” he said.

Buehler said he supports opening Oregon's primary elections to independent voters. In partisan races, only Republicans, Democrats or members of minor parties are allowed to choose party nominees.

He said he also wants the secretary of state to perform more extensive performance audits of state agencies, seeking to identify waste and cut expenses.

During her three years in office, Brown has had auditors focus on improving government services and cutting expenses. One audit earlier this year recommended the Department of Environmental Quality modify its procedures and use a new computer software to reduce costs. It also suggested the agency conduct tests for other state agencies.

Buehler was introduced by one of his Roseburg High School instructors, math teacher Don Crossfield, who said he remembered Buehler as honorable, smart, compassionate and a hard worker.

“Those are some pretty good attributes for a secretary of state,” Crossfield said.

Roseburg investment counselor Tom Nelson, who has known Buehler's family for 50 years, said Buehler would be a good secretary of state.

“He's a very polished young man. He comes from a very good family,” Nelson said.

Roseburg High football coach Thurman Bell said he wasn't surprised by his former punter's success. Buehler was quiet and led by example, Bell said. “He was never one to turn down a challenge.”

• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by email at jsowell@nrtoday.com.