Renewed interest in 'lieutenant governor' title

Proponents, including Brewer, say that will help inform voters this person could be governor, something that has happened five times before in Arizona history, four in the last 31 years. And that might make them pay more attention to the political views of that person.

Brewer, a Republican, conceded it is possible the 2002 election, when she first won the job of secretary of state, might have produced different results had the title of the office been something other than secretary of state.

The idea is getting some attention from a few Democrats who have routinely opposed close to a dozen prior proposals.

State Rep. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, said Arizona should go a step farther. She wants the governor and lieutenant governor to run as a ticket, the same as the president and vice president. That, Lopez said, would ensure people pay attention to whom they are choosing not only for governor but for a possible future governor.

Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, who has pushed the issue before, unsuccessfully, said he's not sure it needs to go that far.

But Huppenthal said just renaming the office would change the nature of the election. That's because voters will be asking candidates a lot more questions about a lot more things than the current duties of the secretary of state.

"The questions are going to shift from (running) elections to education, transportation and the economy," he said.

"Those are going to be what they want to hear about," Huppenthal said of voters. "They want to hear about what this person's going to do when they become governor."

Changes in governor can mean radical changes in state policy.

When Republican Evan Mecham was impeached and convicted in 1988, the job went to Secretary of State Rose Mofford, a Democrat.

The change that took place in 1997, after incumbent Republican Fife Symington had to resign following his criminal conviction on fraud charges, was less pronounced as his replacement was fellow Republican Jane Hull.

If Democrat Napolitano takes a position in the Cabinet of President-elect Barack Obama, the job goes to Republican Brewer. Her record of 14 years as a state legislator shows a very different philosophy of government than Napolitano.

"The voters in Arizona elected a governor that was pretty much center to the left," said Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix. Now, he said, the entire ideology of the office "is going to change dramatically" despite the intent of voters in picking Napolitano in 2002 and reelecting her four years later.

Gallardo said he doubts Arizona voters, who elected Brewer those same years, screened her philosophy of government the same way they did Napolitano.

Israel Torres Brewer's Democratic foe in 2006, said there's no question the attitude toward the two offices is totally different.

He said he did get some questions, often from newspaper editorial boards, about his philosophy on issues above and beyond the specific duties of the secretary of state.

But he said they were "easy to deflect. It was easy to say, 'Well, the secretary of state doesn't really deal with abortion' or 'the secretary of state doesn't deal with the criminal justice system or with the education system or with water.' "

But Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, said she sees no reason to make a change. She said there already is voter awareness and discussion during each campaign of whether the secretary of state would be ready to assume the role of governor.

McCune Davis also noted voters rejected a proposal in 1994 to have the governor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket.

The veteran lawmaker suggested there might be some benefit to the Democrats if Brewer takes over.

Napolitano has built up a record number of vetoes of bills approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature on issues ranging from abortion and gun control to permanent elimination of the state's currently suspended property tax. McCune Davis said if those kind of bills could become law under Brewer it will help educate voters about what is going on at the Capitol.

"You'll see very clear evidence that the Legislature and the Republican party is way out of sync with the voters of Arizona," she said.

Brewer said Arizona is one of only three states that does not have a lieutenant governor.

DID YOU KNOW:

Arizona has had to replace five governors through succession. But only four of those were secretaries of state who to moved up when the elected governor left office early.

In 1977 Secretary of State Wesley Bolin became governor when Raul Castro resigned to become ambassador to Argentina, turning his old job over to Rose Mofford.

Since the state constitution requires the secretary of state to have been elected to take over as governor, Mofford wasn't eligible when Bolin died suddenly in 1978, so Attorney General Bruce Babbitt assumed the top spot.

But Mofford got her chance 10 years later, after having run and won the secretary of state's job multiple times. In 1988 she became governor after impeachment and conviction of Evan Mecham.

The other two successions to Arizona governorship:

1948: Dan Garvey becomes governor on the death of Sidney Osborn.

1997: Jane Hull becomes governor after Fife Symington quits after a felony conviction.