AUGUSTA -- In 17 months, Maine voters will choose a new governor.

Haven't thought much about it?

With the rain, the recession and the Red Sox, that's understandable.

But many people are thinking about it. Nine have officially signed up with the state ethics commission. Former Red Sox minority owner Les Otten is scheduled to announce an exploratory committee today in South Portland.

State Rep. Dawn Hill, D-York, says she's going to run. Waterville Mayor Paul LePage, a Republican, has said he's "strongly considering" getting into the race. And you can never rule out state Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville.

Others inside and outside the political establishment are weighing their options.

The stakes are high.

Democratic Gov. John Baldacci's eight-year term ends in January 2011, giving Republicans a chance to claim control of at least one aspect of state government. Two Republicans are already in the race.

But Democrats are ready to fight, with a former attorney general an announced candidate and other well-known Democrats likely to jump in.

And don't forget about the Green Independent Party, which has two candidates officially in the race. Four unenrolled, or independent, candidates have signed up with the ethics commission.

University of Maine at Farmington political science professor Jim Melcher said people are hungry for someone with a plan.

"My hunch is people want somebody who will give the state confidence," he said. "That doesn't have to be somebody with a long résumé in government."

Traditionally, the party that's not in the White House does well in midterm elections, Melcher said. That gives an initial advantage to Republicans, who haven't held the governorship in Maine since John McKernan left office in January 1995.

"One thing the Republican party has going for them is they can say, 'we haven't had a governor since Jock McKernan, aren't you ready for something different?'" Melcher said.

People out and about this weekend said they haven't given the race much thought, but that they do have strong feelings about what they'd like to see in the next chief executive.

Many said they look for honesty in candidates, and that they want the eventual winner to live up to campaign promises.

For Dan Foster of Augusta, it's all about keeping an eye on the state's finances.

"I know they have to balance the budget, but fiscal discipline is important to me," he said.

State worker Marie Michaud, also of Augusta, said she hopes a new administration will get rid of mandatory, unpaid shutdown days and other cuts implemented to balance the state budget.

"We don't have the cushy jobs people think we do," said Michaud, a clerk in the Department of Health and Human Services.

After the June 2006 primary set the field of candidates, five people ran for governor that year. Baldacci was an incumbent, and faced a challenge from Republican state Sen. Chandler Woodcock, Green Independent Pat LaMarche, former state Rep. Barbara Merrill, an independent, and Phillip Morris NaPier, who called himself "Thu People's Hero."

Baldacci won with 38 percent of the vote.

This time around, it's an open seat, one of at least 17 across the country, according to the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

In an early analysis of the 36 total gubernatorial races set for 2010, center Director Larry J. Sabato writes that in many states, the field of candidates is already clear.

"But in quite a few states, where the incumbent is retiring or term limited, a free-for-all is in store," he wrote in the analysis. "There's nothing like an open governorship to release the pent-up ambitions of politicians angling for their chance to run the show."

For many Mainers, the race will be more about policy than politics.

Anton Lawrence, of Chelsea, said jobs are a priority for him. Each week, he leaves his children at home to go work out of state, and returns to spend time with them on the weekends.

"I have to go out of state to make money," he said. "I don't know if it's taxes or what, but it would be nice to have jobs."

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com