Lieutenant Who?
Posted June 5 2009

With the gubernatorial primary now history, New Jersey voters know who the respective party candidates are this year - or do they? 

While we know Governor Corzine secured the Democratic Party's nomination to run for re-election and Chris Christie won the Republican Party's nomination, two other candidates who will appear on the ticket remain yet unnamed and unknown to voters, and they are the candidates for Lieutenant Governor.

For the first time in our state's history, New Jersey voters will elect not only a Governor but also a Lieutenant Governor, thanks to a state constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2005 establishing the office of Lieutenant Governor.

According to the amended constitution:

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected conjointly and for concurrent terms by the legally qualified voters of this State, and the manner of election shall require each voter to cast a single vote for both offices. The candidate of each political party for election to the office of Lieutenant Governor shall be selected by the candidate of that party nominated for election to the office of Governor. The selection of the candidate for election to the office of Lieutenant Governor shall be made within 30 days following the nomination of the candidate for election to the office of Governor.

So, who are the Lieutenant Governor nominees?  While various names have been floated, truth be told we just don't know yet - and given the 30-day constitutional parameter, we may not know for several weeks.

And while some hold that the position of Lieutenant Governor is not of great importance or significant, we would beg to differ for two primary reasons.

First, as provided in the state constitution, in the event of a vacancy in the Governor's office for any reason - e.g. "death, resignation or removal . or . any other cause" - the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor. This scenario occurred last year when then-Lieutenant Governor David Paterson became Governor of New York following Eliot Spitzer's resignation. While it's true that the Lieutenant Governor will in all probability remain mostly in the background, at any moment he or she could become Governor, and for this reason even if for no other, the choice of Lieutenant Governor is an extremely important one.

Second, according to the constitution, the Governor has the authority to appoint the Lieutenant Governor to significant positions - including the "head of a principal department" and even the Secretary of State - without the advice and consent of the State Senate. Note, the Senate's advice and consent are required for all other appointments to the head positions of principal departments as well as for his appointment of anyone else as Secretary of State.

In short, the person who occupies the position of Lieutenant Governor may end up wielding far more power than many now foresee.

So, while many are not giving much attention to this new position, we should be, recognizing that just as the Vice President of the United States is one breath away from the presidency of the United States, the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey will be one breath away from a governorship that holds more sole power than any other governorship in the country.

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