Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
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The Lieutenant Governor of Michigan is the second-ranking executive officer in the U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor.
The current Lieutenant Governor is John D. Cherry, in office since 2003.
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[edit] How the Lieutenant Governor is elected
In Michigan, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected as a ticket to serve a term of four years. The election takes place two years after each US Presidential election; thus, the next election will take place on November 7, 2006.
[edit] Nomination
Following the August primary election in each gubernatorial election year, each state party holds its state convention and nominates candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General, among other offices. Because the governor and lieutenant governor are elected as a team, the party's gubernatorial nominee usually makes the de facto decision as to whom the party will nominate for lieutenant governor, then convention delegates officially confirm the nomination.
[edit] Election and inauguration
After the November election, the governor and lieutenant governor take office on January 1. Thus, the winners of the 2006 election will begin their term on January 1, 2007.
[edit] Term limits
Like the Governor, the Lieutenant governor is allowed to serve up to two two terms in office.
[edit] Duties of the Lieutenant Governor
There are three main duties assigned to the Lieutenant governor: 1) to serve as acting governor while the governor is out of state; 2) to become governor in the event that the governor is unable to serve; and 3) to preside over the Michigan Senate.
These days, the Lieutenant Governor also acts as an assistant to the governor. When the governor is unable to attend a function, for instance, the lieutenant governor may be sent in place of the governor.
[edit] List of Lieutenant Governors
| Edward Mundy | D | 1835-1840 |
| James Wright Gordon [1] | W | 1840-1841 |
| Thomas J. Drake [2] | W | 1841 |
| Origen D. Richardson | W | 1842-1846 |
| William L. Greenly [3] | D | 1846-1847 |
| Charles P. Bush [2] | D | 1847 |
| William M. Fenton | D | 1848-1851 |
| Calvin Britain [4] | D | 1852 |
| Andrew Parsons [5] | D | 1853 |
| George Griswold [6] | D | 1853-1854 |
| George Coe | R | 1855-1858 |
| Edmund B. Fairfield | R | 1859-1860 |
| James Birney [7] | R | 1861 |
| Joseph R. Williams [6][8] | R | 1861 |
| Henry T. Backus [6] | R | 1861-1862 |
| Charles S. May | R | 1863-1864 |
| Ebenezer O. Grosvenor | R | 1865-1866 |
| Dwight May | R | 1867-1868 |
| Morgan Bates | R | 1869-1872 |
| Henry H. Holt | R | 1873-1876 |
| Alonzo Sessions | R | 1877-1880 |
| Moreau S. Crosby | R | 1881-1884 |
| Archibald Buttars | R | 1885-1886 |
| James H. MacDonald [9] | R | 1889 |
| William Ball [6] | R | 1889 |
| John Strong | D | 1891-1892 |
| J. Wight Giddings | R | 1893-1894 |
| Alfred Milnes [10] | R | 1895 |
| Joseph R. McLaughlin [6] | R | 1895-1896 |
| Thomas B. Dunstan | R | 1897-1898 |
| Orrin W. Robinson | R | 1899-1902 |
| Alexander Maitland | R | 1903-1906 |
| Patrick H. Kelley | R | 1907-1910 |
| John Q. Ross | R | 1911-1914 |
| Luren D. Dickinson | R | 1915-1920 |
| Thomas Rea | R | 1921-1924 |
| George W. Welsh | R | 1925-1926 |
| Luren D. Dickinson | R | 1927-1932 |
| Allen E. Stebbins | D | 1933-1934 |
| Thomas Read | R | 1935-1936 |
| Leo J. Nowicki | D | 1937-1938 |
| Luren D. Dickinson [11] | R | 1939 |
| Matilda Dodge Wilson [12] | R | 1940 |
| Frank Murphy | D | 1941-1942 |
| Eugene C. Keyes | R | 1943-1944 |
| Vernon J. Brown | R | 1945-1946 |
| Eugene C. Keyes | R | 1947-1948 |
| John W. Connolly | D | 1949-1950 |
| William C. Vandenberg | R | 1951-1952 |
| Clarence A. Reid | R | 1953-1954 |
| Philip A. Hart | D | 1955-1958 |
| John B. Swainson | D | 1959-1960 |
| T. John Lesinski [13] | D | 1961-1964 |
| William G. Milliken [14] | R | 1965-1969 |
| Thomas F. Schweigert [15] | R | 1970 |
| James H. Brickley | R | 1971-1974 |
| James J. Damman | R | 1975-1978 |
| James H. Brickley | R | 1979-1982 |
| Martha W. Griffiths | D | 1983-1990 |
| Connie B. Binsfeld | R | 1991-1998 |
| Dick Posthumus | R | 1999-2002 |
| John D. Cherry, Jr. | D | 2003-present |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gordon became acting governor on February 24, 1841, after William Woodbridge resigned to take a seat in the united States Senate. Succession prescribed by the Michigan Constitution of 1835, article 5, §13.
- ^ a b The president pro tem of the Michigan Senate was elected to perform the lieutenant governor’s duties as president of the senate. Under the 1835 constitution, the lieutenant governor had no specifically defined duties other than presiding over the senate and as filling in as acting governor. See Michigan Constitution of 1835, article 5, §14 and 15.
- ^ Greenly became acting governor on March 4, 1847 after Alpheus Felch resigned to take a seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ Under the provisions of the Michigan Constitution of 1850, article 4, §34, and article 5, §3, and Act 175 of the Extra Session of 1851, Laws of Michigan, Britain was elected for a single 1-year term in 1851.
- ^ Parsons became acting governor on March 8, 1853, after [[Robert McClelland (american politician)|]] resigned to become Secretary of the Interior under Franklin Pierce. See Michigan Constitution of 1850, article 5, §12.
- ^ a b c d e The president pro tem of the Michigan Senate was elected to perform the lieutenant governor’s duties as president of the senate. Under the 1850 constitution, the lieutenant governor had no specifically defined duties other than presiding over the senate and as filling in as acting governor. See Michigan Constitution of 1850, article 5, §13 and 14.
- ^ Birney resigned April 3, 1861 after being appointed by Governor Moses Wisner to fill a vacancy on the 10th Circuit Court.
- ^ Williams died June 15, 1861.
- ^ MacDonald died January 19, 1889.
- ^ Milnes resigned May 31, 1895, to become U.S. Representative to Congress.
- ^ Dickinson became acting governor upon death of Frank D. Fitzgerald, March 16, 1939. See Michigan Constitution of 1908, article 6, §16, and Opinion of the Attorney General, 1939-1940, p. 69.
- ^ Wilson was appointed November 14, 1940, by acting Governor Dickinson. There is some question as to whether Matilda R. Wilson became, in fact, lieutenant governor during the last 6 weeks of Luren D. Dickinson’s term as acting governor. See Opinion of the Attorney General, 1939-1940, p. 69.
- ^ Lesinski, although a Democrat, was elected for his second term with George W. Romney, a Republican, defeating his running mate.
- ^ Milliken was the first lieutenant governor to be elected as part of a single party ticket; in 1966, he was the first lieutenant governor elected to a 4-year term; he became governor upon the resignation of George W. Romney January 22, 1969, to to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Richard Nixon. See Michigan Constitution of 1963, article 5, §§21 and 26, and schedule §5.
- ^ Schweigert served March 20 to December 31, 1970. See Opinion of the Attorney General, No. 4625, April 22, 1968, and Act 8 of 1969.
Source: Michigan Manual 2003-2004, Chapter IV, Former Officials of Michigan
