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A long-time Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor once said that if he woke up, called the office and the governor wasn't dead, he would have fulfilled the constitutional duties of the office.
Like the U.S. vice presidency, which one-time VP John Nance Garner said wasn't "worth a pitcher of warm piss," being lieutenant governor can be a politically constricting position that doesn't offer much in the way of agenda-setting.
The state Constitution outlines the lieutenant governor's duties by saying that the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor upon the governor's death, resignation or removal from office. In addition, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor if the governor is out of the state, is impeached or becomes incapacitated through mental or physical illness . Even then, they only keep the job until the governor gets back or the impeachment is vacated.
Other than serving on boards and commissions, that's about it. At least the vice president has nominal duties as president of the U.S. Senate. They took that duty away from Wisconsin's lieutenant governor in the 1970s.
Politically, it's a dead end.
The last two lieutenant governors to become acting governor -- Martin Schreiber and Scott McCallum -- both lost in their attempts to be elected to a full term.
They don't call it Lite Governor for nothing. Every once in awhile, there's even talk of abolishing the position, most recently with a proposal by state Sen. Alan Lasee (R-De Pere). Democratic Senate President Fred Risser told a Madison TV station that he has supported the idea in the past, but hasn't made up his mind on the current proposal.
Yet a line is forming to run for the job.
On the Democratic side, Milwaukee state senators Spencer Coggs and Lena Taylor are considering whether to make the run. South side Milwaukee Ald. Tony Zielinski already has declared his candidacy. On the Republican side, state Rep. Brett Davis of Oregon has a Facebook page for his run. Superior Mayor Dave Ross has a web page for his campaign, and Tom Farley, Jr., a Madison resident and brother of the late comedian Chris Farley, also was said to be considering a run at one time.
But given the nature of the job, why bother?
Well, you get a nice office, a salary of $72,394 and a small staff. You get to travel the state and, if you're lucky, you get to have some small influence on policy.
Current Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, now a candidate for governor herself, has made a valiant attempt to make the office relevant even though she and Gov. Jim Doyle are said not to be close. But there's only so much she could do. After seven years in office, Lawton is recognized by about half of the respondents in a recent poll.
Meanwhile, Zielinski has raised $110,000 and is running hard. He's also been picking up a few local endorsements. Zielinski said he will use the post as a bully pulpit to "champion public safety, promote a healthy economy and level the playing field for American workers."
Ross, a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative, says the lieutenant governor "needs to drive the agenda of the governor," which hasn't exactly been the role of Lite Governor in the past.
Don't be surprised if the crowded field means we'll have primaries in both parties.
But don't be surprised if in the end if it doesn't amount to much more than that pitcher full of warm liquid.
Bill Zaferos began his journalism career in 1981 at the Oshkosh Northwestern, later becoming a political reporter at the Appleton Post-Crescent. He is a former winner of the American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalists, working as a senior staff member to U.S. Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., and U.S. Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Cal. He later became an award-winning political reporter for the Wilmington (DE) News Journal, covering state and national politics and the Delaware Legislature.
Zaferos, was press secretary to acting Milwaukee mayor Marvin Pratt and has served as a senior communications adviser to the citys Department of City Development during the Norquist administration. He is a veteran of several statewide and local political campaigns, including those of City Attorney Grant F. Langley; Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Jeff Conen; and Appeals Court Judge Patricia Curley among others.
Previously, Zaferos has written music reviews for OnMilwaukee.com.
Zaferos is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he received his masters degree from Marquette University.
