Insider Role for Bustamante

The post of California lieutenant governor is a bit like the human appendix: It serves no necessary function and at times it can be a real pain. This is because the top two officials are independently elected and the rule in recent years has been to have a governor of one party and a lieutenant governor of the other. Lieutenant governors have at times caused mischief when a governor of the opposing party traveled out of state, leaving the No. 2 official as acting governor.

It appears, however, that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante will have a major role in the administration of the new governor, Democrat Gray Davis. Bustamante, a Fresno Democrat, stands to be the first lieutenant governor in modern California history to wield real clout.

Recent governors have treated their lieutenant governors with indifference or antagonism, even when they were of the same political party. The lieutenant governor has few official duties but one enormous responsibility: succeeding to the governorship if the chief executive dies or resigns.

Now there’s a new look in Sacramento. Bustamante, a former speaker of the Assembly, campaigned with Davis and became an integral part of his transition team, helping select the first appointees to Davis’ administration. This past week, Davis put Bustamante in charge of a key commission that will develop a plan to meet California’s infrastructure needs for the next decade.

Beyond that, Bustamante’s specific role in the new administration has yet to be spelled out. But he is expected to be the administration’s liaison with Mexico, a job in which he can perform a valuable service in shoring up California’s tattered relations with our southern neighbor.

Reformers keep trying to change the state Constitution so that candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket. But all such proposals have been defeated. For now, relations between the two officials must depend on how much the governor wants the No. 2 official to be involved.

So long as they serve independently, however, there is one constitutional change that is urgently needed: that the governor retain his powers when he leaves the state. The idea that the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor the minute the chief crosses the state line is a relic of stagecoach days. The Legislature should start the process to amend the Constitution to recognize this reality.

For now, at least, whenever Davis must leave California, it appears he will have a trusted ally--not an appendix--filling in for him. That is good for Davis and good for California.