Bruce McPherson, a former Republican Secretary of State of California, recently changed his registration from “Republican” to “independent.” See this story. He is running this year for Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, a non-partisan post. He will be in a run-off in November against a registered Democrat, but party registration has no official bearing in California elections for county and city office, and no party labels appear on the ballot.
McPherson was appointed Secretary of State by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In January 2006, while he was Secretary of State, he ruled that the Peace & Freedom Party was not entitled to be on the ballot in 2006. However, after he learned that his opinion violated precedent, he was good enough to acknowledge that he had made a mistake, and he then ruled that the Peace & Freedom Party did belong on the ballot.
The Santa Cruz News Sentinel suggests that McPherson is the highest ranking ex-state officer ever to be a registered independent, but that part of the story is incorrect. Jerry Brown was a registered independent at one point, after he had served as Governor during the period 1974-1982. After a few years, Brown returned to being a registered Democrat, and of course is again Governor of California.
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