By now you’ve probably heard that Governor Schwarzenegger has nominated State Senator Abel Maldonado (R – Santa Maria) to be the state’s next Lieutenant Governor. Maldonado gained national and statewide attention in February after casting the final vote to approve the 2009 Fiscal Year State Budget, against the wishes of many in his own party.
The lbpost.com conducted an exclusive interview with Sen. Maldonado in February. Click here for that article. During the interview, Sen. Maldonado explained the reasoning behind his request for non-partisan open primaries in future elections.
Right now we have a government that just doesn’t work. We have the extreme Right and the extreme Left, and nothing gets done. I really believe that a non-partisan primary is the reform we need today. The system was built under Gray Davis, it failed under Governor Schwarzenegger, and it will continue to fail under the next Governor.
The Los Angeles Times today reports that a Democratic state legislature may shoot down the appointment, and that Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg (D – Sacramento) may be under pressure to keep the seat open for a Democrat. Steinberg also cited the $2 million cost of a special election that would be needed to fill Maldonado’s current seat. The Times‘ Evan Halper says that Steinberg may also wish to leave the Lieutenant Governor seat vacant. A statement from Steinberg reads:
“It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this statewide office next year and avoid the expense of a costly special election.”