One Governor Is Enough

Whenever the president boards Air Force One and flies off to China or anywhere else, the entire authority of the presidency goes with him. Only if he were to be disabled would his place be taken by his fellow Democrat, Vice President Al Gore, elected on the same ticket.

But the minute Republican Gov. Pete Wilson sets foot across the state line, all of his powers fall to a rival, a Democrat, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis. In fact, it has been 24 years since Californians elected a governor and lieutenant governor of the same party. The situation has created all sorts of opportunity for political mischief-making, such as when Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Curb made a judicial appointment when then-Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. was out of state.

Fortunately, other lieutenant governors have been more cooperative caretakers. But the existing system for transfer of power is long outmoded, a leftover from frontier days.

Californians clearly like the ability to elect a governor of one party and a lieutenant governor of another. The Legislature repeatedly has rejected constitutional amendments to have governor and lieutenant governor candidates run on a party ticket--twice this year, in fact.

But there is no reason in an era of instant worldwide communications that the governor should not retain his full powers wherever he is. The Legislature could--and should--remedy this anachronism with a state constitutional amendment of a single sentence and submit it to voters for their approval.