Dear Editor: In his Jan. 14, 2001 column, Jon Shure called for an elected lieutenant governor for New Jersey. This would be a totally unnecessary expense.
The State Senate president can easily fill in during a temporary absence of the governor. And a simple change to our State Constitution would handle the rare situation that arises such as now with Whitman resigning.
Change the constitution so that in such cases the Senate President becomes the governor, but losing his position in the State Senate. Then establish a procedure for the State Senate to select a new leader.
True the new governor would have been unelected, but while unfortunate it would be no different from the situation we faced after Watergate. No one outside his Michigan congressional district every voted for the new president, Gerald Ford. Nor did we elect his vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, to that post.
Keep in mind we would not just pay a lieutenant governor's salary. We'd pay for staff, offices and expenses. And the new officeholder would fight for real duties and powers, both to justify the post and to better prepare for a future State House run.
The only beneficiaries of this proposal would be politicians who would have a new job to fight over, and the vast industry of lawyers, consultants, ad agencies and everyone else who would profit from adding a new, costly election race to the schedule.
Sincerely,
Pat Bontempo, Chairman
Monmouth County Libertarian Party
775-7263