Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | |
---|---|
| |
Style | His Honor/ Her Honor |
Term length | Four years |
Inaugural holder | Thomas Cushing |
Formation | October 25, 1780 |
The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His, or Her, Honor.
The Massachusetts Constitution provides that when a governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the office of governor remains vacant for the rest of the 4 year term. The lieutenant governor discharges powers and duties as Acting Governor and does not actually assume the office of governor.[1] The first time this came into use was five years after the constitution's adoption in 1785, when Governor John Hancock resigned his post five months before the election and inauguration of his successor, James Bowdoin, leaving Lieutenant Governor Thomas Cushing as acting governor.[2] Most recently, Jane Swift became acting governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci.
The lieutenant governor serves in place of the governor when he is outside the borders of Massachusetts. Historically a one-year term, the office of lieutenant governor now carries a four-year term, the same as that of the governor. The lieutenant governor is not elected independently, but on a ticket with the governor. According to the Massachusetts Constitution, to be eligible for either office, a candidate must have lived in Massachusetts for at least seven years immediately preceding his election, and originally also had to be a Christian owning at least £1,000 worth of real property. However, only the residency requirement remains in effect.[1]
The office is currently held by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, who was inaugurated in January 2015. [3]
Constitutional role
Part the Second, Chapter II, Section II, Article I of the Massachusetts Constitution reads,[1]
There shall be annually elected a lieutenant governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose title shall be, His Honor and who shall be qualified, in point of religion, property, and residence in the commonwealth, in the same manner with the governor: and the day and manner of his or her election, and the qualifications of the electors, shall be the same as are required in the election of a governor.
Other functions
Massachusetts law provides for the lieutenant governor to serve as the chairman of the award selection committee for the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery.[4]
List of lieutenant governors
- Parties
Democratic Democratic-Republican Federalist Republican Whig
- Thomas Cushing (1780-1788; Acting Governor in 1785)
- Benjamin Lincoln (1788-1789) (Federalist)
- Samuel Adams (1789–1794; Acting Governor from 1793) (Democratic-Republican)
- Moses Gill (1794-1800; Acting Governor from 1799)
- (Office Vacant, 1800-1801)
- Samuel Phillips, Jr. (1801-1802) (Federalist)
- Edward Robbins (1802-1806) (Democratic-Republican)
- Levi Lincoln, Sr. (1807-1809; Acting Governor from 1808) (Democratic-Republican)
- David Cobb (1809-1810) (Federalist)
- William Gray (1810-1812) (Democratic-Republican)
- William Phillips, Jr. (1812-1823) (Federalist)
- Levi Lincoln, Jr. (1823-1824) (Democratic-Republican)
- Marcus Morton (1824-1825; Acting Governor in 1825) (Democratic-Republican)
- Thomas L. Winthrop (1826-1833) (Democratic-Republican)
- Samuel T. Armstrong (1833-1836; Acting Governor from 1835) (Whig)
- George Hull (1836-1843) (Whig)
- Henry H. Childs (1843-1844) (Democratic)
- John Reed, Jr. (1844-1851) (Whig)
- Henry W. Cushman (1851-1853) (Democratic)
- Elisha Huntington (1853-1854) (Whig)
- William C. Plunkett (1854-1855) (Whig)
- Simon Brown (1855-1856) (Know Nothing)
- Henry W. Benchley (1856-1858) (Republican)
- Eliphalet Trask (1858-1861) (Republican)
- John Z. Goodrich (1861) (Republican)
- John Nesmith (1862) (Republican)
- Joel Hayden (1863-1866) (Republican)
- William Clafin (1866-1869) (Republican)
- Joseph Tucker (1869-1873) (Republican)
- Thomas Talbot (1873-1875; Acting Governor from 1874) (Republican)
- Horatio G. Knight (1875-1879) (Republican)
- John D. Long (1879-1880) (Republican)
- Byron Weston (1880-1883) (Republican)
- Oliver Ames (1883–1887) (Republican)
- John Q. A. Brackett (1887–1890) (Republican)
- William H. Haile (1890-1893) (Republican)
- Roger Wolcott (1893–1896) (Republican)
- Winthrop M. Crane (1897–1900) (Republican)
- John L. Bates (1900-1903) (Republican)
- Curtis Guild, Jr. (1903-1906) (Republican)
- Eben Sumner Draper (1906-1909) (Republican)
- Louis A. Frothingham (1909-1912) (Republican)
- Robert Luce (1912–1913) (Republican)
- David I. Walsh (1913-1914) (Democratic)
- Edward P. Barry (1914-1915) (Democratic)
- Grafton D. Cushing (1915-1916) (Republican)
- Calvin Coolidge (1916-1919) (Republican)
- Channing H. Cox (1919-1921) (Republican)
- Alvan T. Fuller (1921-1925) (Republican)
- Frank G. Allen (1925-1929) (Republican)
- William S. Youngman (1929-1933) (Republican)
- Gaspar G. Bacon (1933-1935) (Republican)
- Joseph L. Hurley (1935-1937) (Democratic)
- Francis E. Kelly (1937-1939) (Democratic)
- Horace T. Cahill (1939-1945) (Republican)
- Robert F. Bradford (1945-1947) (Republican)
- Arthur W. Coolidge (1947-1949) (Republican)
- Charles F. Sullivan (1949-1953) (Democratic)
- Sumner G. Whittier (1953-1957) (Republican)
- Robert F. Murphy (1957-1961) (Democratic)
- Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr. (1961-1963) (Democratic)
- Francis X. Bellotti (1963-1965) (Democratic)
- Elliot Richardson (1965-1967) (Republican)
- Francis W. Sargent (1967-1971; Acting Governor from 1969) (Republican)
- Donald R. Dwight (1971–1975) (Republican)
- Thomas P. O'Neill III (1975–1983) (Democratic)
- John Kerry (1983-1985) (Democratic)
- (Office Vacant, 1985-1987)
- Evelyn Murphy (1987-1991) (Democratic)
- Paul Cellucci (1991-1999; Acting Governor from 1997) (Republican)
- Jane M. Swift (1999-2003; Acting Governor from 2001) (Republican)
- Kerry Healey (2003-2007) (Republican)
- Tim Murray (2007-2013) (Democratic)
- (Office Vacant, 2013-2015)
- Karyn Polito (2015–present) (Republican)
Living former lieutenant governors
As of January 2015, eight former lieutenant governors were alive, the oldest being Francis X. Bellotti (1963–1965, born 1923). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor was that of Paul Cellucci (1991–1999), on June 8, 2013.
Lt. Governor | Lt. Gubernatorial term | Date of birth |
---|---|---|
Francis X. Bellotti | 1963–1965 | May 3, 1923 |
Donald R. Dwight | 1971–1975 | March 26, 1931 |
Thomas P. O'Neill III | 1975–1983 | September 20, 1944 |
John Kerry | 1983–1985 | December 11, 1943 |
Evelyn Murphy | 1987–1991 | May 14, 1940 |
Jane M. Swift | 1999–2003 | February 24, 1965 |
Kerry Healey | 2003–2007 | April 30, 1960 |
Tim Murray | 2007–2013 | June 7, 1968 |
See also
- List of Governors of Massachusetts
- Government of Massachusetts
- Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2006
- Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Massachusetts General Court. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ↑ Hall, Van Beck (1972). Politics Without Parties: Massachusetts 1780–1791. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-0-8229-3234-5. OCLC 315459.
- ↑ Rubino, Rich. "The Unusual and Peculiar Office of Lieutenant Governor". TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ↑ "General Laws: Chapter 6, Section 214". Massachusetts General Court. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
![]() |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
External links
|
|
|
```