Rep. Mayberry Campaigns To Eliminate The Office He Seeks

From Janelle Lilley with our content partner, KATV Ch. 7 News:

Getting rid of the very office you’re running for is an unusual campaign promise to say the least, but that’s the platform Rep. Andy Mayberry (R-Hensley), a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor, unveiled Thursday.

“We can eliminate a layer of bureaucracy. We can make government smaller and more efficient, and we can save taxpayers about $400,000 per year,” Mayberry said.

When former Lt. Governor Mark Darr resigned at the beginning of February, Mayberry was among many in the legislature who advocated saving the state money by not holding a special election. Lawmakers voted to wait until the regular November election, leaving the office open for nearly a year. However, Mayberry says it wasn’t until he hit the campaign trail that he changed his mind about the long-term necessity of the office.

“As long as we have the office, we need a good person in the office because they’re literally a heartbeat away from being governor, but that’s a different question. It’s hard to give a strong defense of why we need an office that is sitting vacant for a year,” explained Mayberry.

Mayberry’s plan includes legislation that will be run in the 2015 regular session. It would allow voters to abolish the position of lieutenant governor, shifting the next position in the line of succession to the secretary of state and allowing the senate pro tempore to preside over the senate. The governor would also retain his power even when he is out of the state, but would have the option to sign authority to the secretary of state upon his absence.

What else did Mayberry have to say on the subject? Read Lilley’s full report at this link.