Eleven years ago, the late Robert J. Healey Jr. ran the last of his three failed bids for lieutenant governor, capturing 39% of the vote. What made that respectable showing notable, however, was that Healey was a single-issue candidate, focused primarily on abolishing the office.
That so many voters agreed with him may be one reason recent Rhode Island governors have tended not to work closely with the person elected by voters to fill in or, in extraordinary circumstances, replace them if they can’t finish their term.
But when the extraordinary happens, as was the case with former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s resignation to serve as United States secretary of commerce, it’s voters who get shortchanged. Gov. Daniel J. McKee is still trying to get up to speed in the office and on the issues, more than two months after Raimondo was tapped for her new post in President Joe Biden’s cabinet.
That’s why the former lieutenant governor’s plan to make his successor a partner, as opposed to leaving him or her to carve out their own role, is in the state’s best interests.
The National Lieutenant Governors Association says 26 states have team elections for the two offices. For Rhode Island to join them, it would require a constitutional amendment that voters couldn’t decide on before the next gubernatorial election in 2022, according to Common Cause Rhode Island.
Until then, Mr. McKee will get to make the case in practice that the two offices can be more effective working together, rather than separately as he and his predecessor did for six years.
