From NewsDay.com:

Especially with the State Senate crisis ebbing, Gov. David A. Paterson’s move to make Richard Ravitch his lieutenant governor looks now more like a rash political stunt than a sober government action.

Paterson said his concern was gubernatorial succession. But Article 6 of the state constitution sounds plain enough: In the absence of both a governor and a lieutenant governor, the next in line of succession is the temporary president of the Senate, followed by the Assembly speaker.

If a vacancy occurs for both governor and lieutenant governor, an election is prescribed to replace them. The two posts are elected together. The constitution has no provision for a governor appointing his successor – or otherwise putting the job in unelected hands.

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