Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

July 08, 2009

Paterson Will Appoint Lt. Governor to Break Deadlock

WCBS-TV reports that New York Gov. David Paterson (D) is planning to appoint a lieutenant governor later today.

Sources says that the new lieutenant governor "is expected to be someone that will play the role of a caretaker in the position, and would not run in next year's gubernatorial election."

However, the New York Times notes there "is no provision in the New York State Constitution that provides for filling the office in the event of a vacancy, though some in Albany have pushed a legal theory that state law would allow the governor to name someone to the post."

"The lack of a lieutenant governor -- who casts tie-breaking votes in the Senate -- has become a particularly pressing issue as senators remains unable to reach an agreement that would allow them to begin passing legislation again."

Update: The New York Daily News says Paterson picked former MTA boss Richard Ravitch though it will likely be challenged in court.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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