Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts applied for the District 6 Metro Council vacancy on Wednesday, saying she was recruited for the position based on concerns that there might not be a majority for any other candidate for the seat.
Roberts, 74, said she's not interested in running for the seat in 2012. That's in contrast to the two perceived front-runners, Bob Shiprack and Bob Stacey, who both have said they'll be on the ballot next year.
"I don't have any desire to be stepping on toes," she said. "If the votes are not there, I thought this might be a good option for me to step forward right now and offer my service."
Roberts has been involved in the agency for decades, including chairing Metro's charter review committee in the early 1990s. In 1992, in Roberts' second year as governor, voters approved the charter, which established Metro's role in regional land use planning.
Oregon's governor from 1991-95, she helped lay the groundwork for bringing light rail to Washington County. One of her point people on that was Bob Stacey, who also helped her with her housing programs, she said. Roberts said she had not spoken to Stacey about her application, but had left him a message.
Roberts said she could withdraw from consideration for the position if it appears as though a majority is coalescing around a candidate.
"I'm not wanting to shut anyone else out," she said. "I just want to make sure there are the votes there, so they don't get bogged down and we don't have to go through weeks of a long, drug-out experience, which is hard for the council and the community."
She said "people connected with Metro" gauged her interest in the position; she wouldn't say who recruited her to apply.
The Metro Council could vote as early as Feb. 24 to fill the vacancy, with the councilors having semi-secret ballots. They won't know who each voted for during the vote, but the ballots become public after the vote is done.
Stacey said he would comment on the former governor's application after he talked to Roberts. A call to Shiprack was not immediately returned.
Three other applications were submitted on Wednesday: Kenneth Heggem, a board member of the Woodstock Neighborhood Association and a five-year resident of the district; Jonathan Levine, a Southwest Portland resident who has lived in the district for seven years; and Walt Nichols, a 10-year District 6 resident who is the chair of the Mount Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association.
In total, eight applications were received for the vacancy, created when Robert Liberty resigned Jan. 15 to lead the University of Oregon's Sustainable Cities Inititaive.
Correction - An earlier version of this story did not account for Kenneth Heggem's application for the vacancy.