Topeka ? Kansas Corporation Commissioner John Wine said Monday he probably won’t be re-appointed to the post he has held for the past 8 years.

“It’s time for me to be exploring options,” said Wine, a Republican member of the three-person panel that regulates everything from electricity rates to telecommunications and trucking.

Wine’s term expired March 15, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has yet to name his replacement.

Appointments to the KCC are considered among the most important personnel decisions for a Kansas governor.

Commissioners earn $107,000 annually and the appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation.

Wine had said he wanted to continue serving on the KCC but that he is probably out of the running, though he has not received word one way or the other from Sebelius.

Nicole Corcoran, a spokeswoman for Sebelius, said the governor would make an appointment within the few weeks.

Corcoran declined to say whether Wine would be re-appointed.

“The governor has not made her decision on that,” she said.

Several names have circulated as possible replacements, including Glenda Cafer; Donald Schnacke, and Kerry Patrick.

Cafer is an attorney and lobbyist for SBC Communications; Schnacke is a former lobbyist for the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Assn. and Patrick is a former legislator from Johnson County. Earlier this year, Rep. Carl Holmes, R-Liberal, had expressed interest in the job.

Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan, had been mentioned as a possible contender after she announced she wasn’t seeking re-election. But Oleen said she has not applied for the job.

“That’s not something that is on my radar screen,” Oleen said

State law says no more than two of the three members of the KCC can be from one party. Current members — Brian Moline and Robert Krehbiel are Democrats, so Sebelius, who is also a Democrat, must appoint someone other than a Democrat.

Jim Zakoura, an Overland Park attorney who has numerous dealings before the commission, said he hadn’t heard who was being considered.

But he said the appointment is crucial.

“The commission is working through some significant policy issues in the telecom area as well as the electric energy area. Someone would need to be attuned to policy and ratepayers’ interests,” he said.

Wine was first appointed to the KCC in 1996 by Gov. Bill Graves. Graves reappointed him in 2000.

Wine has long worked in state government, serving as Kansas Securities Commissioner and also in various positions with the secretary of state’s office.