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One thing stands out in a review of the duties of the office of lieutenant governor: It is pretty much what the officeholder wants to make it.

Technically, the state Constitution requires that the lieutenant governor fill in as governor if the state's chief executive officer dies or is unable to perform his or her duties, and serve as the presiding officer of the Senate. Various state laws assign other committee membership duties.

Beyond that it's up to the lieutenant governor to fill out the job description for the position that pays a yearly salary of $93,948 -- the lowest of the nine elected state officials.

Three-term incumbent Brad Owen has opted to use the office as a bully pulpit to bring a strong anti-drug message to young people around the state. He's also heavily into promotion of economic development and foreign trade.

And he's solid at both.

Owen, a Democrat, is being challenged in his bid for a fourth term by Republican Marcia McCraw, who would be the first woman to hold the position. An attorney licensed to practice in four states, she wants to make one of her main priorities the compilation of a statewide database to match nonprofit organizations and willing volunteers. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and some French, Spanish and Japanese, which she thinks would be helpful in further promoting foreign trade.

All things considered, we'll recommend Owen for re-election. As for his prescribed duties, he's never given a governor cause to worry when he or she is out of the state. And we acknowledge his reputation as a fair presiding officer and insistence on order and decorum in the state Senate.

Beyond that, Owen has evolved as a solid and respected ambassador for the state. He is remembered in these parts for an impressive effort in 2003 that brought consulars representing 45 nations on a historic three-day tour of Central Washington. It was a tremendous, unprecedented opportunity for so many trade representatives to join in looking at this area's economy, businesses and diversified agriculture up close. It was a pretty good boost for tourism, too.

We like that kind of enterprise and initiative that Owen routinely demonstrates in his ad-hoc efforts while in office.

Owen has done a good job being what he's supposed to be and we're happy to have him on board. If the state is going to keep on electing lieutenant governors separately from the governor, he's a good fit.

McCraw is an intelligent person with good ideas, but she lacks any significant government experience. Owen, on the other hand, served six years in the state House and 14 in the state Senate before being elected lieutenant governor in 1996.

McCraw does not make the case for unseating the incumbent. Owen, on the other hand, is a solidly performing incumbent who has earned another term.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

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Election reforms launched by the secretary of state's office in recent years have grabbed most of the headlines, so it might be easy to overlook two other important duties assigned to that office beyond being chief elections officer: chief corporations officer and supervisor of the State Archives.

They're certainly important, too, and Sam Reed has done such a good job at all three that we'll recommend the Republican's re-election to a third term to the $116,950 per year post.

He is opposed by Democrat and computer software expert Jason Osgood, who comes across as thoughtful and passionate about the technical aspects of voting and makes interesting points about security and backup that bear scrutiny. But on balance, he clearly lacks the kind of broad experience to run this multifaceted and important state agency.

But let's face it, election reforms since the disputed 2004 gubernatorial election in recent years have been foremost in the public arena and Reed has masterfully handled the challenges in the eye of that particular hurricane.

One of the most dramatic changes was to centralize voter registration into one system in the secretary of state's office, replacing the previous 39 county systems. Reed now can also access other databases, such as Social Security and the state Department of Corrections, to cross check for invalid registrations. The registration rolls have been purged and things are apparently on track again.

In the midst of all that subsequent turmoil, Reed has come out unscathed. No one on either side of the debate has questioned his integrity, largely because given the opportunity to be partisan in cleaning up voter registration rolls and election procedures, Reed was not.

He also bucked party bosses with his unflinching support of the state's new, and very popular, "top two" primary election that debuted Aug. 19. It allows voters to pick the candidates of their choice, regardless of party, with the top two vote-getters in the primary advancing to the general election, regardless of party. The system is anathema to Republican and Democratic leaders in the state -- to the point they unsuccessfully filed suit to stop it.

As for those other two hats that Reed wears? On his watch, Reed saw to the creation of the first state digital archives in the nation. Now rather than rooms full of boxes of paper, valuable state records are recorded in the archives and are especially welcomed by genealogy buffs wanting to track ancestors through records.

As chief corporations officer, Reed says he likes to make the state as business friendly as possible and in 2002 made Washington one of the first in the nation to allow corporations to file online.

All these things considered, he has earned another term. Honesty, integrity and commitment are traits we need to encourage in public service. Reed has them in abundance.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.