Capitol Alert: Dan Logue on the move again as re-election plans change

Campaign musical chairs caused by the state's new political maps have put Assemblyman Dan Logue on the move again.

Logue told The Bee earlier this year that he had moved to a home he owns in Penn Valley both to be eligible to run in the newly drawn 1st Assembly District and to improve his commute to the Capitol. Staying put in his current Linda residence would have left him to run against fellow GOP Assemblyman Jim Nielsen.

But Nielsen announced Tuesday that he will pass on running for re-election in the lower house, instead waiting to run for the 4th Senate District, which will be up for grabs in a special election if Richvale Republican Doug LaMalfa wins election to Congress in November.

"Rather than forcing the taxpayers to spend millions on another special election to fill his (Assembly) seat if he is elected to the Senate, he has chosen to forgo his election this year," Nielsen spokesman David Reade said of the Gerber Republican's plans.

That decision opened the door for Logue to change course and run in the 3rd Assembly District, which includes a large chunk of territory he currently represents.

State law requires that candidates be registered to vote in the district they seek to represent, so Logue will have to move yet again ahead of his 2012 campaign. But finding somewhere to live in the new district shouldn't be a problem, said Logue, who will have to re-register to vote at the new address before formally filing his candidacy papers.

"I have 10 houses in the 3rd Assembly District, so I am just going to pick one of the houses that I already own and we will be residing there," Logue said.

Logue hasn't ruled out running for the state Senate if LaMalfa's seat opens up, meaning a Nielsen vs. Logue matchup could still be in the cards for next year.

"It's presumptuous to believe that that seat's available," he said, "If the seat does become available, I would definitely take a hard look at it."

PHOTO CREDIT: Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, confers with colleague Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, on the Assembly floor onFeb. 8, 2010. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee.