While ballots are still being counted in Tuesday's election, one high-profile local politician is already looking to the future.

Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen told WW earlier this week that he was waiting until after the election to begin seriously exploring whether to run for Portland mayor in 2012. Besides running the county, Cogen had also been working on the campaign to pass the Portland Public Schools money measures on Tuesday's ballot.

With the election over, Cogen says he'll now spend the next four to six weeks talking with political advisers, business and labor leaders, prominent community members, county employees and his family about whether he should run for City Hall—presumably against Mayor Sam Adams, who has not yet announced his plans.

"Where does it make sense for me to serve? Because I love this job and I feel like we're making a lot of really good progress [at the county]," Cogen says.

"Of course, one important thing to think about is whether I can win," he adds. "But the first question I have to ask and answer is, would I rather have this job or that job? And I'm working on that more than anything else right now."