Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, says he's considering a run for Snohomish County sheriff. Sheriff Rick Bart, a Republican, is retiring.

Lovick may be one of the best known legislators, at least among TVW watchers. He is Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and wields the gavel most of the time the House is in session.

Lovick was just being interviewed on TVW -- I'm blogging from TVW's ad hoc Capitol studio -- and was asked what his political future may hold. He said he has given "some serious thought" about running for sheriff. He hasn't made a final decision but says, "I'm almost there."

After the session he will meet with friends and advisors and make a decision. Lovick spent 31 years in the State Patrol. He's been in the Legislature since 1998, and has been House Speaker Frank Chopp's fill-in for five years.

Lovick said on TVW that he studies hard for that job. Maybe not as hard as he did when he first was elected Speaker Pro Tem. He said that during church he would draw maps of the House floor and work to memorize the name and district number of every member of the House. At Crosscut, Austin Jenkins wrote this week about Lovick's attempts to keep his fellow Democrats on the straight and narrow.