Archive for the ‘Lieutenant Governor News’ Category
Utah: Lots of Qualified Prospects for Lt. Governor
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 11:27 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 26 May 2009 11:27
Oh, yeah. Diplomacy has always intrigued the governor. Early in the Bush administration, Huntsman was on a short list of ambassador prospects submitted to the Chinese government. China’s leaders were then mired in the “Falun Gong” cult controversy, and they were wary of Huntsman’s relative youth and his religion. But now Huntsman is older, more proven, is a hot commodity in America, and they couldn’t say yes fast enough.
Gary Herbert will name his lieutenant governor once he is sworn in. Who are the prospects and why is this important?
Herbert is already focused like a laser on his 2010 re-election. (He met with professional campaign consultants last week.) Despite promising to continue Huntsman’s policies, he must establish his own identity apart from Huntsman by early next year when the election process begins. Herbert’s pick will be his most-watched decision this summer and will send a strong signal. A conservative would help him in the state convention. A moderate would help him in the general election against a strong Democrat like Rep. Jim Matheson. The problem with picking a lieutenant governor is that most of the top-level prospects don’t want the job. Those who seek it are usually second-tier leaders looking for a leg up. Here are some of the prospects. (Remember, all previous lieutenant governors since 1984 have been lawmakers or local officials):
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CA Democrat Lt. Gov Upsets Primary Lineup
Last Updated on Friday, 22 May 2009 01:07 Written by rslcpol Friday, 22 May 2009 01:07
From Politico:
For a time, California state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier seemed to be on a glide path to the House, a favorite to succeed Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher when she officially steps down to take a State Department position.
He wasted little time securing the support of Tauscher, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), a top lieutenant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who represents Tauscher’s adjoining district, and the Contra Costa County Central Labor Council.
But the calculus changed when Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi unexpectedly parachuted into the contest for the comfortably Democratic Contra Costa County-based seat late last month. Now, even DeSaulnier’s supporters concede that Garamendi, who dropped his bid in the 2010 governor’s race to join the House special election, is the new front-runner.
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Alabama State Senators Rejecting Pay Raises?
Last Updated on Thursday, 21 May 2009 03:20 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 21 May 2009 11:38
Taking a couple of mail pieces off the table for a future campaign no doubt. What’s more interesting – is that this is not the first time raises have been declined. From the Montgomery Advertiser:
A majority of state senators and Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. have rejected their 3.8 percent pay raise this year, but few turned down the more than 60 percent raise lawmakers approved for themselves in 2007.
Twenty-three of the 32 current members of the Senate — Democrats and Republicans — declined the cost-of-living raise this year, and many of those who are accepting it are giving the money to charities in their districts.
But only four of those senators have declined the pay raise the past three years, Republicans Ben Brooks of Mobile, Hank Erwin of Montevallo, Del Marsh of Anniston and Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb.
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NV: AG’s Office Dismissed from Lt. Gov Case
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 03:39 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 20 May 2009 03:39
From ReviewJournal.com:
The state attorney general’s office has been disqualified from prosecuting Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki in a criminal case alleging he misappropriated state money.
District Judge Elissa Cadish ruled that this is a “extreme case where disqualification is warranted.”
In her ruling, Cadish cites Krolicki’s claims that the attorney general shouldn’t handle the prosecution due to an “appearance of unfairness and impropriety.”
The ruling applies to both Krolicki and Kathryn Besser, Krolicki’s chief of staff who was also charged.
Authorities accused Krolicki of misappropriating approximately $6 million in fees earned by the state college savings program while he served as treasurer. Krolicki and his attorneys have argued that the treasurer’s office was following the law in the way it administered the fee funds.
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SD: Republican LG to run for Governor?
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 12:23 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 20 May 2009 10:13
From ArgusLeader.com:
Daugaard says he’s appreciative of his time at Children’s Home Society. “I think it gave me executive experience before Children’s Home,” he said.
That organization now has 270 full-time employees plus part-time employees statewide.
“In the near term, I will be continuing my work at Children’s Home until November,” he says, “then start going around the state full time trying to get to the places I cannot reach until spring, do that when I have some control over my schedule,” he said.
Daugaard is frank about what he needs to do immediately.
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UT: Governor Bows Out; Lt. Governor Steps Up
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 03:15 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 19 May 2009 11:00
Yet another reason to care who your home state Lieutenant Governor is. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. essentially bade farewell to Utah and its residents Monday while introducing them to their next state leader, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, who will immediately start to take on a much higher public profile.
“Let me just thank our citizens for their many kindnesses toward our family” and for “allowing our family the honor of service,” Huntsman, President Barack Obama’s nominee as U.S. ambassador to China, said in a Capitol news conference .
It is likely to be the last Utahns hear from the governor for weeks. He declined to take reporters’ questions and said he will continue to do so during the “sensitive” Senate confirmation process ahead.
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UT LG Sounds Note of Continuity
Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2009 02:29 Written by rslcpol Monday, 18 May 2009 02:29
From kutv.com:
He’s cast as more conservative than out-going Governor Jon Huntsman, but Lt. Governor Gary Herbert sounded a note of continuity in a 2 News interview over the weekend.
“There won’t be any dramatic shifts to the left or the right, or wholesale change,” said Herbert, speaking live on 2 News at Five Saturday. “We want to have a steady as you go approach.”
Herbert described himself as “a pretty average Utahn” and said he would “absolutely” run for governor in 2010.
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Vermont Democrat House Leader Considering Run for LG
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 03:32 Written by rslcpol Monday, 18 May 2009 02:28
Floyd Nease – joining the ranks of failed Democrat candidates for L.G. in Vermont. From BurlingtonFreePress:
Vermont House Majority Leader Floyd Nease is considering running for lieutenant governor.
The 56-year-old Democrat from Johnson has just finished the first year of his fourth term in the House.
The Barre Montpelier-Times Argus says Nease thinks the lieutenant governor has a unique opportunity to lead in the kind of efforts that are not gubernatorial, but are important to Vermonters.
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Virginia Democrat Bowerbank Ends LG Run
Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2009 12:48 Written by rslcpol Monday, 18 May 2009 12:48
From Roanoke.com:
Democrat Jon Bowerbank of Russell County abruptly ended his campaign for lieutenant governor Friday and endorsed former state Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner, one of two remaining contenders in the party’s June 9 primary.
“Now simply wasn’t my time,” Bowerbank said in a statement announcing his withdrawal. “I resolutely believe, however, that my time will come. In the future I intend to again offer myself for public service. When that time comes, I will be prepared to run and to serve.”
Bowerbank, a businessman and member of the Russell County Board of Supervisors, had invested more than $900,000 of his own money in his campaign through the end of March. But, in pulling out of the race, he said obligations to his family and his business have become too great for him to continue.
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TN LG Ramsey – Shortfall is Growing
Last Updated on Monday, 18 May 2009 12:42 Written by rslcpol Monday, 18 May 2009 12:42
From Chattanooga Times Free Press:
Tennessee’s budget shortfall has grown by $300 million, hitting $1.4 billion, state officials said.
With those figures in hand, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said Friday that Tennessee officials must cut $160 million to $300 million to balance the budget. He estimated the actual figure would be about $200 million.
Gov. Phil Bredesen must take the lead on cuts, said Lt. Gov. Ramsey, speaking to the Southeast Tennessee Political Action Committee meeting in Chattanooga.
“I’ll support whatever he comes up with,” he said.
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