Rodrigues is expected to make a formal announcement in coming days, but in an interview, Rodrigues said he’s made up his mind to run.

Rodrigues said his decision is all about giving voters a choice.

Since then, Republican Luce found himself at odds with fiscal conservatives when he successfully supported 2006’s Measure I, which created Napa County’s Regional Park and Open Space District. Other Republicans, including supervisor Bill Dodd, called the formation of a new district a taxation time bomb in the making.

As a result of these two efforts, environmental and agricultural activists have been pleased with Luce’s actions, while some members of his original base have become unsettled.

Rodrigues is among those disappointed in Luce’s direction.

“I’ve been very disappointed. Being involved with Measure A like I was, I met a lot of people who were very disappointed with (Luce’s) stances on property rights issues,” he said.

As for whether his decision to challenge Luce is payback, Rodrigues said, running for office “would be too big an effort to do something for payback. To me that comment is very childish.”

Rodrigues said he would be supporting the interests of property owners — and advocating for at least one monthly Board of Supervisors meeting on a Saturday — but said he’ll wait until his formal announcement to lay out the rest of his platform.

“I’m very, very active in property rights protection and I also think the citizens don’t have a lot of time to follow these things,” he said. “At supervisors meetings usually the room is filled with people who are paid to be there.”

Luce said despite his cruise to victory in his last two supervisorial terms, he’s no stranger to a political contest.

“It’s not new and I guess really it’s been quite a gift to run unopposed a couple times, so you can’t expect that to happen again,” he said.

Luce ran in a contested race for Napa City Council in 1990, and again when he ran for county supervisor in 1996. In 1998 he unsuccessfully ran for Congress against Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.

Luce is already prepared for a challenge, saying he expects to have raised about $12,000 by the end of the year.

“I’d heard a few months back that Mike (Rodrigues) was going to run,” he said, adding he felt it was only natural that at some point he would find a political challenger because he said he’s taken strong stands on county issues.

“I think I’ve had a very good record and Mike is going to give me the opportunity to talk about that,” he said.

Rodrigues said he’s also looking forward to the campaign.

“At the end of the day all these (supervisors) should be challenged to raise the level of debate so that the people know what they’re getting,” he said.

Luce won’t be the only one on campaign for a county elected office.

Though district five Supervisor Harold Moskowite has not stated whether he plans to run again in 2008, so far former Napa County Sheriff Gary Simpson and American Canyon Fire Chief Keith Caldwell have indicated they will run for Moskowite’s seat.

Supervisor Bill Dodd is also up for re-election in 2008. No one has announced plans to run against him.