“In its wisdom, the General Assembly….”  Is a sentiment that could be an oxymoron to some. However, over the long haul it usually applies.

The discussions of changing Tennessee’s constitution to address the transfer of powers should a governor become unable to perform his/her duties has led, in my mind, to a “rush to elect” a lieutenant governor.  Let’s slow down, think this through and examine the alternatives.

While thinking about the General Assembly and its wisdom, I thought back to December  of 1972.  A Republican (Winfield Dunn) was governor and some Democrats wanted a more politically active Comptroller of the Treasury.  When the House and Senate Democratic Caucus met to nominate (and essentially elect) the state’s constitutional officers, a campaign was swiftly implemented to nominate Floyd Kephart, a bright, young political activist, for the position of Comptroller. Such action would have booted Bill Snodgrass from office; a man who was widely recognized as one of the top fiscal government officials in the nation.  Prior to the legislative convention, five Democrat senators joined members of the Republican party to support Snodgrass. When the votes were counted in January, 1973, a majority of the General Assembly “in its wisdom” had made Tennessee history and returned Snodgrass to office.

State government’s tallest building in Nashville is now named the William R. Snodgrass Tower for a reason….Bill’s career of nearly five decades was a testament to what good and effective public service is all about.

His work continues in the man he mentored, John Morgan.  In fact, with one brief exception in the 1980s, Tennessee has been blessed with enlightened, stable leadership in all of its constitutional officers.  There hasn’t been a scintilla of impropriety, let alone scandal.

My point is this: the system is working. Though there may be an occasional bump in the road, we have all benefited from a well-run state government that manages to squeeze the most out of each precious tax dollar.

Part of the reason for that is the strong fiscal policies of the constitutional officers, and the fact that Tennessee is a “strong-governor state.”  One reason the office of governor is so important is that it is the only statewide-elected office.

The “tick bite furor” which led us to address this question had, until last year, never come up. What to do about the transfer of a governor’s power if the chief executive becomes temporarily incapacitated?

Governor Phil Bredesen (who was away from the office but never out of control due to illness) appointed a prestigious Advisory Committee to review the question.  Headed by able Attorney General Bob Cooper (the state’s AG selection, by the way, is unique in the nation as this position is selected by the Tennessee Supreme Court), the group, which included the speakers of both houses of the General Assembly, former Supreme Court Justice A. A. Birch and former governor Ned McWherter, went to work.

Their final report presented an orderly and simple way to address the issue, which could be requested by the governor or initiated by the attorney general and taken to the State Supreme Court to rule.

A problem then arose: If the Lt. Governor takes over for even a short time, he/she must relinquish the post of Speaker and Senator, allowing someone else to be elected….a major price to pay for what could be a part-time job.

That’s when the talk about an “elected” Lt. Governor initially began, opening an unfortunate Pandora’s box of misguided reasoning in the clamor for other elected officials (attorney general, secretary of state among others). The state should proceed cautiously down that very dangerous road.

Because one of the strengths of a well-managed state government is continuity, an interruption in a governor’s plan and direction with the inclusion of another elected official, is not a wise choice.  That official (Lt. Governor now, or elected) may be well-meaning, but it could still be an interruption.

Some say, let the Lt. Governor be selected by the governor and they then run as a ticket, similar to the Federal model of a vice president.  Might work, but would be a major change and fraught with getting the best person politically on the ticket, not necessarily the best person to carry out, as yet unspecified, duties.

I suggest we consider formalizing the office of Deputy Governor, which is an unofficial, yet very symbolic name first given to Harlan Mathews by former Gov. McWherter and continued by every governor since.  It would probably take a tweak in the constitution (instead of a major shift) and allow the business of government to continue relatively seamless for a period of time (probably set a limit, after which a vacancy could be declared and the normal succession of a vacant office could take place).

There may be other and better ways to address this situation (which hasn’t happened yet, but could).  Mainly, I implore our esteemed General Assembly to dig deep for “your wisdom.”  We truly need it now.