FERRIDAY &8212; Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater won&8217;t be in the race for his position next year.

Ater, a resident of Ferriday, said he could not participate in an election because he believes the position should be appointed.

&8220;It is my opinion that this office should be independent of political party pressures, and therefore should be appointed in the future,&8221; Ater said. &8220;In light of that, I feel that it would be hypocritical to either participate in the upcoming election or to seek the appointment should the office become an appointed position.&8221;

Until the term expires Sept. 30, 2006, Ater said he has a busy slate of projects, one of which is attempting to get the secretary of state position made into an appointed position.

Ater said he has no plans to run for elected positions in the future, but he didn&8217;t rule it out.

&8220;I never considered myself a career bureaucrat or politician,&8221; Ater said. &8220;I&8217;ve always been goal-oriented. I want to accomplish something specific. If another challenge or opportunity came along I would take a look at it.&8221;

Ater will go back to his farm business full-time after his term ends, something he said he looks forward to.

&8220;It&8217;s always nice to be able to take care of your business,&8221; Ater said. &8220;I have a wife, three kids, some grandkids and 5,000 acres I&8217;d like to spend some time with.&8221;

Before that, the Secretary of State&8217;s office has a number of projects Ater wants to see taken care of, he said. At the top of that list is implementing a statewide voting system and getting New Orleans ready for elections in February.

Ater became secretary of state in July after Fox McKeithen died from an infection, a complication of a fall several months earlier that paralyzed him. Ater came back to the office to serve as first assistant secretary of state at McKeithen&8217;s request.

Ater had previously served as first assistant from 2001-2004. He was a two-term state representative from Concordia Parish from 1984-1992.