Do we really need a lieutenant governor?

Let’s face it, the only time we need a lieutenant governor is when the governor dies, gets elected to a higher office or quits for some other reason. Then he becomes the head man in the state and his office means something.

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will soon leave that post to take over his position as mayor of New Orleans which he won in the primary of Saturday’s election. And at that time, Gov. Bobby Jindal will appoint an interim lieutenant governor who will guarantee that he will not run for the office in an election later this year.

Apparently, Landrieu thought being boss man of the state’s largest city was more important than playing second fiddle to the governor. And he was right.

A while back, realizing the lieutenant governor had no important duties, one of our governors decided to put the lieutenant governor in charge of tourism, culture and recreation. And that has been continued until the present day.

But tourism is part of our economic development and it fits in with the aims of the state’s Department of Economic Development. The recreation aspects could well be handled by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and state museums could be taken over by the secretary of state’s office which now handles small regional museums.  After all, the state’s second highest elected official is not necessarily an expert in promotion of tourism, recreation or culture.

So who would replace the governor if one of the cited events occurs? The logical choice would be the secretary of state, who is second in line behind the lieutenant governor now. He is usually well-versed in the state’s affairs that would become the duties of the new governor.

We recall that one governor and his lieutenant governor in the past did not get along. In fact, they barely spoke to each other. That was before the tourism, recreation and culture jobs fell into the lieutenant governor’s lap.

As a result, the lieutenant governor did practically nothing. He probably did not have to go to work each day.

Jindal seems to be interested in abolishing the office as a way of cutting back on state expenditures. It would require, however, passage of a constitutional amendment which would have to be voted upon by the people.

It is time to let the administration handle the promotion of tourism, culture and recreation. It would get rid of an unneeded tier of our government, save the money and make the overall job of running the state more effective.