Whether the office of Lieutenant Governor is important enough to be elected becomes an argument matching the citizens’ right to vote versus government efficiency.
Senator John Lamping of Clayton proposes a constitutlional change that would let the winners of party primaries for governor pick their own runinng mates and have the two of them run as a team, as the president and Vice-President do. He says most people don’t know what the Lieutenant Governor does anwyway, a statement that a leading opponent agrees with..
Opponents, however, argue his proposal would concentrate more power with the governor and would remove a check on the govenror’s power. He says the team concept will keep a lieutenant governor of another party with a different philosphy from taking over government if a governor can no longer serve.
One critic says the plan would eliminate diversity among the two candidates. Lamping says his plan could improve it.
An hour and a half of back and forth in Senate debatge resolves nothing. Lamping has put his bill aside without getting a vote.