| I have now read Ward v. Curran, and I am convinced that Governor Paterson's attempt to appoint a Lieutenant Governor is not supported by this case.
In 1943, Lt. Gov. Thomas V. Wallace died, Joe Hanley became the Acting Lieutenant Governor. An Albany judge ordered that a special election be held that November to fill the position.
The court in this case ruled that since Art. XIII Sec. 8 (now Sec. 3) of the state constitution only provides for a temporary gubernatorial appointment to last until the end of the "political year" (which means calendar year), and §42 of Public Officers law required a special election. The fact that the Temporary President of the Senate was acting as lieutenant-governor was not sufficent for the court, since a senator is chosen by a district and the lieutenant-governor is a statewide office.
The court ordered the special election to go forward in 1943.
Times have changed, however. Specifically, §42 of Public Officers law has been amended to exclude the governor and lieutenant-governor from the provisions of the special election. In addition, a new §43 has been added, which seems to allow the governor to appoint a new lieutenant-governor.
The problem is that Governor Paterson's appointment, based on §43, violates the state constitution, specifically Art. XIII, Sec. 3, which only provides for a temporary appointment, in the year the vacancy occurred (i.e. 2008), and lasting only until the end of that year.
Never mind that the whole system is screwed up -- Governor Paterson has no constitutional authority to appoint a lieutenant-governor this year. Period. |
