West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who is only the Governor now because the elected Governor resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, says he will work to create the position of Lieutenant Governor. Currently, West Virginia is one of only seven states that doesn’t have a Lieutenant Governor. The last state to create that position was New Jersey, which elected a Lieutenant Governor for the first time in 2009. See this story.
Lt. Guvs in state senates = an EVIL vestige of the U.K. House of Lords.
Make each Lt. Guv a department head ONLY.
Any VICE-Guvs — as in Vice-Prez ???
See Latin for Vice.
West Yirginia has gotten along fine for 148 years without a lt. gov. The solution to this “problem” is so simple that the politicians there can’t see it – or don’t want to: Earl Ray Tomblin should resign from the WV legislature rather than hold two posts. (Does anybody out there know if he receives 2 paychecks?) Why waste taxpayer money creating a position for still one more power hungry thug to rule over us.
But if you think this is bad, two years ago Gov David Patterson of NY simply appointed one of his buddies to be lt gov – a post that became vacant when Patterson ascended to the governor’s office. There is absolutely NOTHING in the NY Constitution or NY law that allows the filling of a lt. gov vacancy except by an election of the voters. (You remember them don’t you? They’re the ones that trudge to the voting booth every year under the illusion that it makes a difference in their lives.) None the less, the NY courts let it slide.