Lieutenant Governor of Arizona: What to expect from the new role
Arizona Lt. Governor: What will the office do?
Voters will see a joint ticket for governor and lieutenant governor this November, following the passage of Proposition 131 years ago. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has more on this new statewide government office.
PHOENIX - Arizona is joining 45 other states after creating the office of Lieutenant Governor through a 2022 bill.
Why you should care:
Similar to a vice president with the president, this person will be next in line to take over as head of Arizona, making this an important running mate choice for governor candidates.
The backstory:
A fourth of Arizona's governors have gotten the title, at least to start, without voters putting them in the office.
"We had had every form of trigger of the line of succession. From impeachment, to someone passing away, to being indicted, to resigning to become another, like the Department of Homeland Security chief like Jan Napolitano," Sen. J.D. Mesnard said.
According to the National Governors Association website, Raul Castro was elected as governor in 1974, but he resigned in 1977 to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. The man who succeeded Castro, Wesley Bolin, died in office in 1978, and was succeeded by Bruce Babbltt.
After Babbitt, Evan Mecham became governor, but he was impeached and removed from office in 1988. He was succeeded by Rose Mofford, who left office at the end of what was originally Mecham's term. Fife Symington became governor following Mofford, but he resigned as governor in 1997. Symington was succeeded by Jane Hull. Janet Napolitano became governor after Hull, but she resigned in the middle of her second term in 2009 to become Homeland Security Secretary.
"I have such mixed emotions now. I'm sad about leaving but I'm excited to go and take on this new responsibility," Napolitano said during an interview with FOX 10 at the time.
Napolitano was succeeded by Jan Brewer, a Republican.
Dig deeper:
Brewer herself was supportive of past efforts to bring the lieutenant governor position to Arizona. State Sen. Mesnard was able to make that happen in 2022 through Proposition 131.
"It was time to put the proposal of lieutenant governor back before the voters and in a different way than they'd seen it before to give them another chance to create more of a ticket arrangement so there'd be more continuity when these situations happen," Mesnard said.
Mesnard says the eventual lieutenant governor's duties will be decided by the governor, but he believes it will be a highly visible role and one involved in many negotiations, sometimes acting as the mouthpiece for the head of state.
"That was one of the criticisms why prior efforts had failed was 'what are they gonna do other than check the paper and see if the governor's still alive,'" Mesnard said. "In this case, it was to take the office of the director of one of the other agencies, either the Department of Administration would be a really good choice, or some other agency, or to be the chief of staff for the governor."
The other side:
While Governor Katie Hobbs declined to comment on the position, the GOP frontrunner to face her on the November ticket, Andy Biggs, told us what he would like to see from the role.
"I want someone who understands the legislative process but also understands the executive process," Biggs said. "When I talk about process, I'm talking about dealing with the agencies and the departments."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for David Schweikert's gubernatorial campaign issued the following statement on the office:
"Congressman Schweikert is hopeful that the role of Lt. Governor will be a positive and impactful addition to a Schweikert administration and the State as he works to get Arizona back on track to real wage growth and economic prosperity. He will make his choice for Lt. Governor with those goals first and foremost in mind."
"At the federal level, the vice president's a voice of his own, but also ultimately serves the president, so I think you'll see a similar dynamic here," Mesnard said.
Senator Mesnard says data shows the choice for vice president, or lieutenant governor, is not as impactful for voters once their ballots are in front of them; but it is a big talker.
We have reached out to Scott Neely and Ken Miceli, the other two GOP candidates for governor, for comment on the lieutenant governor position. They have not responded at this time.
What's next:
The governor and lieutenant governor will appear together on the ballot come November.
Arizona Capitol
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, previous FOX 10 reports, and Andy Biggs.