Lieutenant Governor: No Longer a Patronage Job

By: Michael M. Shapiro

Last week's rapid decline of Governor Eliot Spitzer and this week's elevation of Lieutenant Governor David Patterson to the highest office in New York State Government bear important lessons for New Jersey politics.  Voters will elect the first Lieutenant Governor of the State in 2009, when Governor Corzine runs for re-election. The Lieutenant Governor will not run in a primary since the gubernatorial candidates will choose their respective Lieutenant Governor running mates thirty days after the Primary. The Governor will run with the Lieutenant Governor on a single ticket for the same term of office. Names previously bandied about for the spot in New Jersey are not heavy-weights by any sense of the word but rather are representatives of large constituencies in areas key to Democratic or Republican success in State elections. With Spitzer's fall from grace, the possibility of having a Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey become the Governor is very real, especially to New Jersey voters.

Where the Lieutenant Governor position could have been filled with a political patronage hack pre-Spitzer, voters will now demand better. Politicians in the State can no longer view the Lieutenant Governor role as simply ceremonial and powerless. Therefore, they will vie for the position and competitive campaigning will likely take place, if not visibly, at least internally amongst Party regulars. Candidates for Lieutenant Governor will not only have to be qualified but will have to prove they are able to lead the State on Day One should the Governor have to abdicate his office.

In effect, voters in New Jersey will now be voting for two officials: a candidate for Governor and a candidate for Governor-in-waiting. Any candidate for Lieutenant Governor will now find himself under a similar microscope and will encounter media attention not unlike a candidate for Governor. Voters will want to know how he/she stands on important issues. The Lieutenant Governor will need to engage the voters and not simply rest on the coattails of the gubernatorial nominee.  He/she could either help or hinder the prospects of that candidate.

In many respects, Spitzer’s downfall will likely lead to better government in New Jersey and more qualified candidates for Lieutenant Governor. This position has now been transformed from a patronage job to one of significance. Of course, if New Jersey really wanted a competitive race for Lieutenant Governor and a group of qualified candidates from which to choose, voters would demand an independent election for that office on the Primary ballot. Unfortunately, the prospect of a Lieutenant Governor being elected who might be an opponent of the Governor's choice for a running mate in the Primary is too risky a scenario for our politicians and prominent party leaders to consider.

Michael M. Shapiro, founder of ShapTalk.com, is an attorney who resides in New Providence, New Jersey. He currently serves as the Editor of The Alternative Press, www.thealternativepress.com Contact Mike at mike@shaptalk.com