Paul Pate forms committee to get his old job back; not Cedar Rapids mayor, but Iowa Secretary of State

Paul Pate has been toying with the idea of running for Iowa Secretary of State, the elective post he held for four years before foregoing a reelection bid in 1998 to run for the Republican nomination for governor. That bid didn't succeed.

Pate now has created the Citizens for Pate Committee and filed paperwork with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to announce his interest in seeking election anew as Iowa Secretary of State. Two other Republicans already have said they will seek to win a primary vote to compete against Democratic incumbent Michael Mauro.

Pate, a former state senator and the owner of an asphalt company, reemerged in elective politics in 2001 when he successfully won the post of Cedar Rapids mayor, then a full-time job. He won again in 2003, but did not seek reelection when the city changed to a part-time mayor and City Council and a full-time city manager.

Pate is 51.