Dan Schnur, former Republican political operative and the current Director of the University of Southern California’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, announced he is planing to run for California Secretary of State in 2014, apparently as an independent. Schnur, who served as spokesperson for former California Republican Governor Pete Wilson, later served as a member of the state's Fair Political Practices Commission.

Schnur told several reporters that he is preparing to run for statewide office to reform California's political process.

Schnur, 50, has been Director of the Unruh Institute since 2008 and previously had a long career as a spokesman and communications specialist for elected officials and political campaigns.

He most notably served as Communications Director for former California Governor Pete Wilson and for the 2000 presidential campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain.

If Schnur does decide to enter the race, he will face tough sledding. The field for Secretary of State is already crowded with State Senate Majority Leader Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) and fellow State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco). Derek Cressman (D-CA), the former head of Common Cause, a non-partisan transparency advocacy group has also thrown his hat into the ring. Republican Pete Peterson, executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine University, rounds out the list of already announced candidates.

Running against two of the state’s top Democratic leaders as a former Republican without the backing of either party promises to be a challenge if Schnur does run in deep blue California. All statewide offices, as well as super majorities in the legislature, are held by Democrats with the California Republican Party at its weakest point in recent history

However, his track record in protecting the integrity of the state’s election system and his willingness to eschew partisan politics could give him an advantage with voters.

The decision to run for California Secretary of State was not a complete surprise, however. It is the latest development in Schnur's transition from political operative to political reformer. Since last working for a candidate campaign over a decade ago, he has worked to pass redistricting reform, new primary measures and to restructure term limits for state lawmakers.

"The last  candidate campaign I worked on was 10 years ago," Schnur explained. "The last campaign I worked period was in 2004 with a ballot initiative. In 2002 and 2003, I founded an entity called the Center for Campaign Leadership and trained people and helped them develop the skills to work on political campaigns". That endeavour was sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust.

He has since worked to pass redistricting reform, new primary measures and to restructure term limits for state lawmakers.

He became the Director of the Unruh Institute in 2008, and took a leave of absense in 2010 to serve as the chairman of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), work for which he received praise from both sides of the aisle.

Schnur switched his party affiliation from Republican, to No Party Preference after leaving the FPPC. He announced that change in 2013, a position he claimed was more consistent with his centrist values and his desire to be taken seriously as a political reformer.

“Coming back from FPPC I was appalled by how pervasive and how all encompassing the money chase had become.” Schnur said. “The office holders in both parties were fundraising at an almost non-stop pace. That lead me to change my party registration. Because I decided after coming back from FPPC that I wanted to tackle campaign finance reform and I didn’t think I’d be taken credibly in that role as a member of one of the two parties”.

Schnur feels that both his prior experience leading the states's Fair Political Practicies Comission, and his decision not to align with either party, puts him in an ideal position to be the state’s top election official. Unlike more partisan political offices, California's Secretary of State oversees elections, campaign finance and ensures transparency in the political process.

“Secretary of State should not be a partisan office," he said. “A superintendent of schools shouldn’t be a partisan position, a sheriff shouldn’t be a partisan position. And a person who oversees the state’s elections shouldn’t be beholden to a political party" 

Former Schnur student and USC alumnus Alex Comisar said, “I think unwavering passion and commitment for engaging people in an effective well-running system of governance makes him a perfect candidate to hold that particular statewide office.”

“[Schnur] has always been somewhat of a post partisan,” Comisar continued. “He’s not focused on who is winning and losing. He has always been about bringing people to together to have the kind of debate that results in solutions that make our state a better place”

Comisar’s comments were echoed by Republican Jared Ginsburg, another USC alumnus who took Schnur’s classes.

“He understands that we’re not going to get things done unless we move things to the center”.

Ginsburg believes that electing a No Party Preference candidate like Schnur “would send a powerful message to Californians” that working together and putting partisanship aside is the only way to get things done. But in such a blue-dominated state, that seems almost impossible.

Schnur has made an impression on the students who have come through his Institute. Howevever, he says they've had a similar impact on him.

"The one thing that has made me  understand how important these issues are is the time I’ve spent in the classroom over the years." Schnur said. "What I’ve learned from my students is that for many of them, my generation's version of politics is irrelevant at best and held in contempt at worst. The Millenial generation votes at the lowest rate of any generation but they put more time into volunterring in greater numbers than any other generation".

He is hoping to turn the commitment to civic duty and volunteering that he sees amongst Millenials and "show young people that participating in the traditional procceses of politics and government is a logical complement to the goodwork that they’re already doing."

While most of his efforts will be centered on pushing  new reforms, he did say will devote energy to defending the measures California has put in place over the last several years.

"There are lawsuits that have been filed against the redistricting reform and I would certaintly want to be  active and as involved as possible in protecting those reforms against legal and political challenges." he said.

The Sacramento Bee reported that since Schnur has yet to file his candidacy, he hasn zero campaign dollars in the bank. Some of his opponents, on the other hand, are making big moves. As of June 30, records show that Padilla had $355,265; Yee $299,220; Cressman $44,508; and Peterson $12,799.

The primary in the race for Secretary of State will take place in May of 2014, with the top two vote getters advancing to the general election in November.

If Schnur is elected, he says he will focus on reigning in the state's out-of-control political fundraising, increasing voter participation (especially among underrepresented communities) and moving California politics back to the ideological center, a place he likes to call the “40-yard lines”.

"An umpire shouldn’t be wearing a Dodgers or a Giants jersey," said Schnur.

Reach Deputy Opinion Editor Christian Patterson here; follow him here.