Plans for Gov.-Lt. Gov. Election Ticket Unveiled

Democratic and Republican legislators on Wednesday unveiled bipartisan proposals to elect the governor and lieutenant governor as a ticket and to move the California primary election from June to September.

The legislation, including Gov. George Deukmejian’s proposed constitutional amendment to elect the two top officers of the state as a team, rounded out a three-part bipartisan program to overhaul the California election process.

Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights), a potential candidate for statewide office, said the legislative package would produce a “more efficient voting system and a more responsive government.”

Frustrating System

Deukmejian’s plan would eliminate the ability of Californians to elect a governor of one party and a lieutenant governor of another party, a situation that caused frustration for Deukmejian and his predecessor, Democrat Edmund G. Brown Jr.

Under Deukmejian’s proposal, subject to approval by the Legislature and the voters in 1990, the winning nominees for governor and lieutenant governor in the primary elections would run as a ticket in the general election.

Campbell called the current system an “invitation to conflict and chaos,” whereas a ticket of the same party members would “provide a sense of uniform leadership and direction.”

Deukmejian recently disclosed that despite his earlier protestations to the contrary, he would have accepted an offer to run as George Bush’s vice presidential candidate if it had not meant turning over the governor’s office to Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, a Democrat.

Deukmejian’s predecessor, Democrat Brown, was bedeviled by his lieutenant governor, Republican Mike Curb. Occasionally, when Brown was out of state running for President, Curb caused mischief by appointing a judge and issuing gubernatorial orders that Brown later rescinded.

At a relatively rare bipartisan press conference, the governor’s plan was endorsed by Assembly Democrats Mike Roos of Los Angeles and Jim Costa of Fresno. Costa last month introduced a bill long sought by Democrats and many Republicans that would give California greater clout in selecting White House nominees by moving the presidential primary from June to March.

For years, Deukmejian opposed advancing the presidential primary to late winter or spring to save costs--estimated at $36 million.