If Mike Minogue were to win the race for governor, Massachusetts would likely have no lieutenant governor for the next four years.
But political observers say that’s not necessarily a problem — and it’s not too unusual, either.
Minogue’s running mate, Shawn Oliver, suspended his campaign over the weekend after he was arrested on drunk-driving charges stemming from a rollover crash in New Bedford. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment this morning.
Minogue says if they win, he will ask for Oliver’s resignation.
When a lieutenant governor resigns, the state constitution provides no mechanism for replacement. The same goes for a lieutenant-governor-elect who never takes the oath of office, as could be the case with Oliver.
This would not be the first time Massachusetts has gone for an extended period with the position unfilled.
“It has been vacant for years at a time,” said Jerold Duquette, a Massachusetts law expert and professor at Central Connecticut State University. “So it’s really not a particularly problematic situation in any legal, constitutional sense.”
The lieutenant’s job was vacant from 1985 to 1987, when John Kerry ran for U.S. Senate. It was vacant again, for more than a year, when Tim Murray resigned in 2013 to take a private-sector job. And Jane Swift had no lieutenant governor for nearly two years after becoming acting governor in 2001.
The lieutenant governor’s only constitutional roles are to chair the Governor’s Council, which reviews state judicial nominations, and act as governor in the governor’s absence, a spokesperson for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin confirmed Monday.
The Governor’s Council can be chaired by the governor or a member of the council if there is no lieutenant governor.
Governors in recent years have given their lieutenants more substantial duties. Lt. Gov. Karen Polito, who served with Gov. Charlie Baker starting in 2015, famously visited all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.
Polito “really was the eyes and ears of the governor on those community visits,” said Amy Carnevale, chair of the state GOP. But she said Minogue can get along without a lieutenant governor, and she cast the lack of a deputy as a savings for taxpayers.
Duquette, the political science professor, said the news about Oliver is problematic for the campaign, but not necessarily for a Minogue administration, should Minogue win.
“The question would be, can you find a person to informally do those duties, who’d have the same level of credibility with the outreach that you want done,” he said. “But maybe because they’re not official, maybe they can actually work better on behalf of the governor’s political interests, because they don’t have the burden of that constitutional office.”
Carnevale urged voters to focus on the contrast between Minogue and incumbent Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat.
“Most voters in Massachusetts really vote the top of the ticket anyway,” she said.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Healey said she was glad no one was hurt in the New Bedford crash. But she described the situation at the Minogue campaign as chaotic.
“This is his second lieutenant governor candidate that he has lost,” she said, referring to Anne Brensley, who failed to collect enough signatures for the ballot.
“We’ve got enough chaos with Donald Trump,” Healey said. “We don’t need more from Mike Minogue.”
A UMass Amherst/WCVB poll out today showed Healey with a 25-point lead over Minogue.
If Minogue were to win and traveled out of state, the role of acting governor would fall to the secretary of state, Galvin, a Democrat.
