Yay, New York
Well, this is awesome. With Eliot Spitzer's resignation expected today and effective Monday, we have a new governor: David Paterson.
We also have a new lieutenant governor: Joe Bruno.
The lieutenant governor fulfills the duties of the office of the governor whenever the governor is incapacitated or outside the state, per Article IV, paragraph 5 of the state constitution.
In case the governor is impeached, is absent from the state or is otherwise unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall act as governor until the inability shall cease or until the term of the governor shall expire.
Joe Bruno is now the lieutenant governor. And that means that a man currently under Federal investigation for corruption will be, at various points over the next few years, the acting governor of the state of New York, whenever David Paterson leaves the state, say, to give testimony to Congress.
We just wasted the biggest electoral victory in the history of the state of New York. It's totally okay to begin throwing up right about now.
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David Paterson | Eliot Spitzer | Joe Bruno
In that case
Submitted by Bouldin on 12 March 2008 - 10:29pm.
the Senate elects a new President pro tem, who then accedes to the powers of the office. The acting LG spot is not bound up in Bruno's person, but in his office in the Senate.
Cold comfort.
Wrong paragraph
Submitted by Dan Jacoby on 12 March 2008 - 11:35am.
The correct paragraph (of section 5) is not the third (which you quoted), but the first:
"In case of the removal of the governor from office or of his or her
death or resignation, the lieutenant-governor shall become governor for
the remainder of the term."
In other words, Paterson won't "act as governor" but will "become governor" through the end of 2010.
Regarding Bruno, he doesn't actually become lieutenant-governor. In this case, Article IV, Section 6, paragraph four states:
"In case of vacancy in the office of lieutenant-governor alone, or if the lieutenant-governor shall be impeached, absent from the state or otherwise unable to discharge the duties of office, the temporary president of the senate shall perform all the duties of lieutenant-governor during such vacancy or inability." (Note: We call Bruno the majority leader, but his official title is "temporary president of the senate.")
In other words, Bruno doesn't have to give up his senate seat. This means that in addition to being the acting governor whenever Paterson leaves the state, Democrats are now two seats down in the senate.
Just being pedantic,
Dan
We?
Submitted by Antid Oto on 12 March 2008 - 11:44am.
"We" didn't waste $%*%$-all. I don't remember having anything to do with this.
Question
Submitted by sidnora on 12 March 2008 - 7:37pm.
Is there anything at all in the state constitution about the governor's ability to appoint a new lieutenant governor? Probably not, but you can't blame me for asking.
Thank God David Paterson seems to be the temperamental opposite of Spitzer. I realize he may not be forceful enough to accomplish all the things we hoped for, but Spitzer turned out not to be the man for the job either.
And no, we did not waste anything. We were betrayed. You can blame the Republican witch-hunters all you want, and I do too, but without Spitzer's arrogance and hypocrisy there would have been no witch. Remember what I said about getting angry a couple of days ago?
Well...
Submitted by Bouldin on 12 March 2008 - 10:26pm.
...technically, the office of the LG will be vacant until the next election, with Bruno only assuming all powers of the office without the actual title. The constitution does not provide for a replacement other than by appointing the President pro tem of the Senate the repository of the office's (limited) powers.
As to anger, yeah, I hear you. We might as well not have fought the Aubertine race, because we're back to two down in the Senate.
Without Aubertine...
Submitted by Dan Jacoby on 13 March 2008 - 10:23am.
we'd be three down and have almost no chance of making a difference this fall, so winning that race was still a good thing.
Thanks, Dan
Submitted by sidnora on 13 March 2008 - 10:25pm.
I was about to say the same thing.
But we do have our work cut out for us. Would it be wrong for me to wish for Bruno's case to pick up steam?
So what happens if
the investigations of Joe Bruno's activities turn up enough information that he resigns as well?