by Karl Kurtz
With the reelection of incumbent Speaker Calvin Say in Hawaii yesterday, nearly all of the top leadership positions in state legislatures for 2011 have been decided.
Like fellow incumbent Speaker Ben Lujan in New Mexico, potential opponents to Say, Hawaii's longest-serving speaker, made a lot of news before opening day of the legislature but withdrew from consideration before the actual vote was held. In both states, the potential challengers within the Democratic caucus were unable to attract the votes of Republicans that might have allowed them to unseat the incumbents.
In Texas, incumbent Speaker Joe Straus III also had a challenge from fellow Republicans on the right, which he beat back on a straw vote of 70-30 in the party's caucus a week ago. See "Texas Republicans Savoring Power" for an overview of current politics in the House.
The one leadership race that remains muddy is in the West Virginia Senate, where Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin is temporarily acting as governor after the former governor, Joe Manchin, was elected to the U.S. Senate. Out of concern for the separation of powers, the West Virginia Senate elected Sen. Jeff Kessler to serve as "acting president." But some senators say that nothing in the state's constitution authorizes the Senate to elect such a position and may take the issue to court.
A footnote in the opinion states, "Our state constitution does not provide for the office of acting governor. Rather, it simply provides that the Senate president shall temporarily act as governor during a vacancy in that office until such time as a new governor is elected."
It notes, "The Senate president does not cease being a constitutional officer when he or she acts as governor. The Senate president remains the Senate president."
However, Tomblin said Jan. 18 he does not believe the court's ruling mandates him to return to the Senate as its presiding officer.
"I do not," he said. "I think the court made it very clear today that there is no issue with separation of powers as long as I am Senate president."
He added, "The Senate has spoken on who their new leader is, as far as who will preside when the Senate president is absent."
So for now at least, Sen. Kessler is in charge as acting Senate president with Sen. John Unger serving as majority leader. We'll let you know if anything changes. Check out the leadership category of The Thicket for more leadership selectin stories and NCSL's complete list of legislative leaders.
Photo credit: The Hawaii Independent
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