From the moment Dennis Richardson took office in 2017 as Oregon’s secretary of state, he was on the outside looking in. Not only was Richardson a Republican from southern Oregon ­– unlike the four Portland-area Democrats in Oregon’s top posts – but his stances against abortion rights and gay marriage and in favor of arming schoolteachers placed him firmly in the most-conservative wing of his party.

But for all the attention on his controversial positions, Richardson, who died last week of brain cancer at age 69, was also defined by his integrity, grace and an unwavering devotion to public service. Pledging to carry out his job in a nonpartisan manner, the former legislator from Central Point studiously kept his personal beliefs separate from his actions as secretary of state. And in his two years in the role, Richardson showed what the odd man out can achieve for Oregonians.

With unflinching audits that zeroed in on government failures in foster care, regulation of air-pollution, marijuana regulation and Medicaid payments, he disrupted the complacency and lack of accountability that had become routine in Salem. He bucked the national trend of Republicans restricting voters’ rights and instead took measures to expand Oregonians’ access. And he looked for novel ways, such as posting his office’s budget expenditures to starting a kid governor program to make government more transparent, accessible and responsive to the public.

Richardson’s contributions to Oregon go back long before his election as secretary of state. In his six terms as a legislator, he drilled into the details of bills and budgets. He brought his fiscal savvy to the role of co-chair of the budget-writing committee in 2011, helping deliver a balanced budget without raising taxes during the recession. He was among the first legislators to recognize that management failures and costly delays on the state’s Cover Oregon buildout were threatening to doom the health-insurance exchange project. But his deep social conservatism and record of controversial proposals sunk him in his 2014 bid to be governor of a state that time and again affirms its values of diversity, choice and equal rights.

Richardson got the message and made clear in his campaign for secretary of state that he would keep his personal views out of the role. He emphasized the need to rebuild public trust, increase accountability and transparency and identify how government fails to deliver for Oregonians and what it can do to improve. The series of strong audits issued by his office during his term have done exactly that, turning the secretary of state into a much-needed watchdog for the rest of government.

That is the legacy and philosophy that should guide Gov. Kate Brown as she seeks to appoint a replacement to serve the rest of his term.

Under Oregon’s Constitution, Brown, a Democrat, is required only to appoint a member of the same party as Richardson, a Republican. Unlike vacancies in the Legislature, in which the party provides a list of three to five candidates for consideration by the board of county commissioners, there’s no such requirement constraining Brown’s decision.

That said, Brown does intend to reach out to legislators, business people, advocacy groups and others in the community before making her decision, said her spokeswoman, Kate Kondayen. She added that the governor is “open to considering the names” that the Oregon Republican Party plans to submit. Provided the party offers strong candidates who will show the same dedication to accountability, elections access and separation of personal beliefs from professional actions that Richardson demonstrated, Brown should aim to respect their wishes.

She should also reconsider a requirement she herself is imposing. Brown said she wants to appoint someone who will commit to not running for the office in 2020.

There’s merit to that. Someone appointed to an elected position gains the benefit of incumbency in future elections, without having to pass voters’ test to get there in the first place. And Brown adopted the same standard in 2015 when she looked to appoint her own replacement as secretary of state after ascending to the governorship in the wake of former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s resignation. In that case, Brown appointed Jeanne Atkins, who pledged she wouldn’t run for the office once the term ended.

But that should not be a deal-breaker. Brown’s top priority should be to appoint someone who will continue to bring the same scrutiny of government operations that Richardson did. While his office’s audits were sometimes uncomfortable for agencies – in fact, Brown’s own spokesman dismissed the detailed reviews as “just about politics” following one particularly disturbing audit of the Child Welfare division ­– they are among the only ways the government is held accountable. Without that critical eye, nothing gets fixed.

The public has benefited greatly from having Richardson helm the secretary of state’s office. Brown should honor his legacy by selecting someone who shares his dedication to getting government right.