Home Page > Editorial and Op-Ed
Making the Office of Lieutenant Governor What It Should Be
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:11:00
David Paterson campaigned in 2006 on the promise of adding substance and meaning to the office of lieutenant governor. The office, he insisted, would be forgotten no longer.
Now, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s anticipation, the office will essentially cease to exist for three-quarters of what was to be Paterson’s transformative term.
Sure, in the interim, Joe Bruno will handle the official responsibilities of the lieutenant governor: presiding over the State Senate and being next in the line of succession. He or whoever else serves as majority leader between now and December 31, 2010, will get to claim the title of governor if and when Paterson ever leaves the state.
But the new, extra-Constitutional responsibilities Paterson had been building into the job—like convening meetings of the domestic violence advisory council and contributing to renewable energy initiatives—will presumably fall by the wayside.
So much for making sure the lieutenant governor did more than just wave the gavel at the occasional State Senate session.
And that is a shame. Even before the latest round of distracting frenzy of tabloid sex scandals, there was quite a bit that was not getting done as quickly as most New Yorkers would have liked or needed, and a whole lot more that was slipping through the cracks entirely. Paterson’s willingness to take the lead beyond the bare minimum his office demanded of him was good news for New York State’s government and New York State overall.
Paterson may try to incorporate much of what he had been doing while lieutenant governor into his agenda as governor. But there is more than enough to do within the existing responsibilities of being governor, especially in the wake of the Client 9 scandal and all that had come before it in the 15 months since Day One. Though Paterson’s gubernatorial administration may put added emphasis on funding stem cell research and backing minority- and women-owned businesses, this will not be the same as what would come from having these be the main items on an elected official’s agenda.
In other words, the time has come for a multifaceted Constitutional amendment to permanently change the role of lieutenant governor.
First, the law should be changed to allow an elevated governor to nominate a new lieutenant governor for the State Senate to ratify. That is how things work for the federal government. If this system is good enough to pick new vice presidents, it should be good enough to pick new lieutenant governors.
Second, do not succumb to the pressure to create special elections for either an elevated governor or the new lieutenant governor. This suggestion was floated in the days after Paterson ascended, with some arguing that this would be the only fair way to give the voters a governor they selected. That is ridiculous: voters elect a ticket every four years, just as they do on the national level. Did anyone who voted for Eliot Spitzer in 2006 expect that Paterson would be governor by 2008? No. But did anyone who voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960 expect Lyndon Johnson would be president by 1963? That, however, is a large part of why the number-two office exists. The stability of the executive branch should not be endangered because voters did not think through the different eventualities. No elevated governor should be up for re-election before the end of the term of the governor he or she replaces.
Third, write into the Constitutional amendment actual roles that the lieutenant governor will have, whether elected to that office or nominated to it. Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor sits on the pardons commission. The lieutenant governor of Texas is an ex-officio member of all state commissions and committees. By looking at the gaps that exist in New York government, whether on authorities regulation or any of the other places where the state has faltered and failed, legislators should find ample responsibilities to hand over to the lieutenant governor.
As the man who not so long ago was enhancing the office, Paterson should now take the lead on a Constitutional push to revolutionize what it means to be lieutenant governor in New York.
“In this I am nothing, but I may be everything,” John Adams said of becoming the first vice president.
Paterson could have himself spoken those words anytime before March 10 about being lieutenant governor in New York. Now that he is, following Adams’ phrase, everything, he and everyone else in Albany should work toward making his old office something.
Now, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s anticipation, the office will essentially cease to exist for three-quarters of what was to be Paterson’s transformative term.
Sure, in the interim, Joe Bruno will handle the official responsibilities of the lieutenant governor: presiding over the State Senate and being next in the line of succession. He or whoever else serves as majority leader between now and December 31, 2010, will get to claim the title of governor if and when Paterson ever leaves the state.
But the new, extra-Constitutional responsibilities Paterson had been building into the job—like convening meetings of the domestic violence advisory council and contributing to renewable energy initiatives—will presumably fall by the wayside.
So much for making sure the lieutenant governor did more than just wave the gavel at the occasional State Senate session.
And that is a shame. Even before the latest round of distracting frenzy of tabloid sex scandals, there was quite a bit that was not getting done as quickly as most New Yorkers would have liked or needed, and a whole lot more that was slipping through the cracks entirely. Paterson’s willingness to take the lead beyond the bare minimum his office demanded of him was good news for New York State’s government and New York State overall.
Paterson may try to incorporate much of what he had been doing while lieutenant governor into his agenda as governor. But there is more than enough to do within the existing responsibilities of being governor, especially in the wake of the Client 9 scandal and all that had come before it in the 15 months since Day One. Though Paterson’s gubernatorial administration may put added emphasis on funding stem cell research and backing minority- and women-owned businesses, this will not be the same as what would come from having these be the main items on an elected official’s agenda.
In other words, the time has come for a multifaceted Constitutional amendment to permanently change the role of lieutenant governor.
First, the law should be changed to allow an elevated governor to nominate a new lieutenant governor for the State Senate to ratify. That is how things work for the federal government. If this system is good enough to pick new vice presidents, it should be good enough to pick new lieutenant governors.
Second, do not succumb to the pressure to create special elections for either an elevated governor or the new lieutenant governor. This suggestion was floated in the days after Paterson ascended, with some arguing that this would be the only fair way to give the voters a governor they selected. That is ridiculous: voters elect a ticket every four years, just as they do on the national level. Did anyone who voted for Eliot Spitzer in 2006 expect that Paterson would be governor by 2008? No. But did anyone who voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960 expect Lyndon Johnson would be president by 1963? That, however, is a large part of why the number-two office exists. The stability of the executive branch should not be endangered because voters did not think through the different eventualities. No elevated governor should be up for re-election before the end of the term of the governor he or she replaces.
Third, write into the Constitutional amendment actual roles that the lieutenant governor will have, whether elected to that office or nominated to it. Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor sits on the pardons commission. The lieutenant governor of Texas is an ex-officio member of all state commissions and committees. By looking at the gaps that exist in New York government, whether on authorities regulation or any of the other places where the state has faltered and failed, legislators should find ample responsibilities to hand over to the lieutenant governor.
As the man who not so long ago was enhancing the office, Paterson should now take the lead on a Constitutional push to revolutionize what it means to be lieutenant governor in New York.
“In this I am nothing, but I may be everything,” John Adams said of becoming the first vice president.
Paterson could have himself spoken those words anytime before March 10 about being lieutenant governor in New York. Now that he is, following Adams’ phrase, everything, he and everyone else in Albany should work toward making his old office something.
