Greg Macpherson, a three-term legislator from Lake Oswego with roots in the mid-valley, announced Wednesday he is running for Oregon attorney general.

He pledged he would be a "people's advocate who will protect citizens from crime, consumer fraud and uncontrolled development."

Macpherson, 57, will seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Hardy Myers, who is not seeking re-election in 2008.

A lawyer, Macpherson is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and was instrumental this past session in writing Measure 49, which asks voters this fall to modify Measure 37, the property rights initiative.

Macpherson comes from a family with a long history in Oregon public affairs.

His grandfather was a professor at Oregon Agricultural College and helped form the Oregon System of Higher Education when he served in the state House in 1929.

His father, Hector Macpherson, helped write Oregon's original land-use legislation to protect farm and forest lands from development when he was a state senator from Linn County in 1973.

Macpherson grew up on the family dairy farm near Oakville. He attended the old Oakville grade school and then was bused to Albany for junior high and high school.

He graduated from Albany Union High School in 1968, then earned a degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Georgetown Law School.

He and his wife, Tory, have two grown children, twins Mary and Alex, 26.

For 30 years before entering the House, Macpherson worked as a lawyer in Portland, specializing in employee benefits.

In his formal announcement Wednesday, Macpherson said he considers the AG to be more than the chief legal adviser for state agencies.

"I will use the office to help make neighborhoods safer, ensure that consumers are protected from scam artists and unscrupulous companies, defend laws that protect freedom of choice, personal privacy and the right to die with dignity, and guard Oregon's unique natural resources."

No Republican has yet announced for the office.