What's up with Bruce Hanna?

Kari Chisholm

The former mayor of Cottage Grove, Gary Williams, has just filed a committee to run for the Republican nomination in House District 7, the seat currently held by Rep. Bruce Hanna.

Now, I don't normally cover committee filings, but this one is mighty interesting. After all, Hanna's been featured in lots and lots of rumors this spring and summer. This filing by Williams -- who served as mayor for 12 years -- seems to suggest that he knows that Hanna's not running for re-election in 2014.

So, what's Hanna up to? Here are the most likely possibilities:

• Hanna's retiring from politics and returning to the bottle filling station at the Coca-Cola distributorship he owns.

• Hanna's going to challenge Senator Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene). After all, SD 4 is one of the few Senate seats in the state that features one D and one R in the constituent House districts.

• Hanna's going to challenge Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.

• Hanna's going to challenge Governor John Kitzhaber. Of course, that would set up a primary with Rep. Dennis Richardson and Jon Justesen.

• Hanna's going to challenge Senator Jeff Merkley. Having served as co-Speaker, the Hanna vs. Merkley rumor has been hot for months.

• Hanna's going to challenge Congressman Peter DeFazio. DeFazio's handily dispatched one challenger after another over the years, though a challenge by Hanna raises the stakes to a new level.

Or maybe, just maybe, he's leaving Oregon and going to work for the Palm Springs Tourism Bureau. I hear he likes it there.

What do you think?

By Kari Chisholm Sept. 11, 2013