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Schwarzenegger taps Abel Maldonado as Lt. Gov
November 23rd, 2009, 5:26 pm · 12 Comments · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
Updated with reactions.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office announced yesterday that the big guy had tapped moderate Republican State Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria as California’s next lieutenant governor.
“Sen. Maldonado has proven he has the strength and courage it takes to reach across the partisan divide and put the interests of Californians first and he is absolutely the most qualified person to take on the role of Lieutenant Governor,” the governor said in a statement. “Sen. Maldonado shares my commitment to creating a transparent, accountable government that works for the people. He will be a true partner in solving the critical issues facing our state and building a stronger future for California.”
The lieutenant governor’s office was open because the guy the voters put there, John Garamendi, recently was elected to Congress. The office is often called the lite governor in Sacramento because it has very few responsibilities. Basically, the lieutenant governor’s primary function is to serve as acting governor when the real governor is out of the state or otherwise unable to perform his duties, as when Arnold was under the knife a few years back for his skiing injury.
Anyway, Maldonado is known for subscribing to a moderate brand of GOP politics, much like the governor himself, and for being nakedly ambitious.
Earlier this year, he used his leverage as one of the few swing votes on the budget to extract a number of concessions from the entire State Legislature, including putting a measure on the ballot to legalize open primaries, which would help moderates like him.
Maldonado’s move to lite governor’s office will free up an opening in his State Senate seat, which is very competitive. It’s conceivable that Democrats could win his seat. In fact, Democratic political strategist Steve Maviglio predicted on his Facebook page that “Maldo for Lt. Gov. means the (Senate) district will finally get the representation it deserves. (Former Assembly Democrat) John Laird for Senate!”
Meanwhile, Maldonado, who has said he would run for statewide office in 2010, is now going to be campaigning as the state’s incumbent lieutenant governor, which will give him a leg up against his Democratic competitors.
“I’m honored to take on the position of Lieutenant Governor and I look forward to working with the Governor to tackle important issues facing California and to ensure all Californians have the opportunity to realize their own American Dream,” Maldonado said in a statement.
Reaction to Maldonado’s appointment was mixed. Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta, who was often at odds with the moderate senator, congratulated Maldonado, calling him “an effective leader for California” and “a valuable member of the Senate Republican Caucus.”
On the other hand, Randy Thomasson, president of the anti-gay marriage SaveCalifornia.com, said in a statement that “The only good thing about this is that, if confirmed, Abel Maldonado won’t get to vote against family values anytime soon because the Lt. Governor job has virtually no power.”
Maldonado’s appointment raises the number of Republicans in statewide office from two to three (besides Arnold, the other statewide Republican in office is Insurance Commission Steve Poizner). However, Maldonado’s appointment is sure to anger some Republicans because of Maldonado’s moderate leanings.
Republican State Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley, who is a candidate for Lt. Governor next year and, wrote on his Facebook page that he “is looking forward to the Lt. Gov. Republican primary election next June. Prediction: the voters will like Sam, the experienced, conservative in the race.”
If anything, you can predict blood in that primary. Aanestad and Maldonado have a history of not getting along. They were so at odds at one point a couple of years ago that Maldonado requested that he change seats on the Senate floor to get away from Aanestad.
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DENA BUNIS, Washington bureau chief, 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com
BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento correspondent, 916-449-6046 or bjoseph@ocregister.com
JENNIFER MUIR, County government reporter, 714-796-7813 or jmuir@ocregister.com
JOEL WALSH, Washington bureau intern, 202-628-6381 or jwalsh@ocregister.com
MARTIN WISCKOL, Politics reporter, 714-285-2867 or mwisckol@ocregister.com twitter.com/MartinWisckol
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Monterey County now will be experiencing two new state senators to represent us. Though many of us are happy to see Mr. Denham leaving office, we regret that we may also be losing Mr. Maldonado. I hope we will gain two new public servants and not two new career politicians. PLEAZ NOT ANNA CABALLERO, ETC. For most of us it does not matter whether the new representatives are Republican or Democrat - as long as they fairly represent us and do not focus on stuffing their pockets with the money from special interests. Please visit cal-access to see what your own career politician that represents you in the state legislature is receiving from the special interest groups.
Just more evidence that liars and betrayors get rewarded in government. Maldonado was one fo those republicans who broke his SIGNED anti-tax pledge to his constituents and voted for the biggest tax increase in the history of the United States last February. And what does he get for being a liar and a betrayor??? Arnold promotes him to Lieutenant Governor!!! HAHAHAH!! More of the same, folks. They couldn’t care less about you. It’s all about them!!!! LIARS AND BETRAYORS WIN IN STATE GOVERNMENT!!!!!
makes ya’ sick, don’t it?
The last person we need is Abel Maldonado as Lt. Gov. He is an open border smiling RINO. The only thing he was good for was stabbing Republicans and tax-papers in the back.
I have lost all respect for the Austrian guy. What a RAT.
Wasn’t this appointment supposed to go to Carona?? lol!!!
Sacramento is nothing but corruption and thieves. They want to destroy CA and I bet they will all get reelected. It never fails. There are so many stupid people voting. Then they sit around and wonder why everything continues to get worse.
Are these people so stupid that they can’t see they are flushing the state down the drain? In the midst of all this, they still want to raise taxes even though they are already the highest in the US and they’re driving companies and jobs out of the state at an alarming rate.
There is only one answer to this entire mess. They want CA to fail. They want the loss of the jobs and the businesses. They want people to be more dependent on government. That is the only rational conclusion.
We had that do-nothing, fatty load Cruz Bustamante as lieutenant governor before. As far as I’m concerned, he did absolutely nothing that’s worth remembering. He’s only a standby in case governor Gray Davis was disabled or incapacitated and unable to govern or he’s assasinated. Of course, lieutenant governor Bustamante didn’t take over when Gray Davis was ousted during the recall because of his incompetence. A lieutenant governorship is nothing more than a political decoration.
I think Schwarzenegger is gonna serve out his term and I expect nothing, nil, kaput from Abel Maldonado.
Lairwarrior~~~~
Totally agree. He, along with Anthony Adams, voted for that huge budget deal last Feb. that raised our taxes to record levels. If Maldonado ever decides to run for governor, I’ll be there to vote him down.
He did break the deadlock that had crippled California. So I will give him that. That helped CA from losing more credit points and it stopped the IOU’s that was rocking our international business. I’m not locked into either GOP or Dem voting party lines. That’s an ignorant way of thinking. He took a chance and Arnie is repaying him for that. Maldonado can now look to see if he wants to run for higher office. Since he now hated by the GOP he will have to hope to gain Dem votes and that’s not likely. A Lt Gov can’t do much unless Arnie leaves town again on another vacation.
Lt Gov position ought to be eliminated.
The only person to benefit from this position is Mold-inado himself.
Sen. Abel Maldonado’s Goals as Lt. Governor:
To become a better actor (so that taxpayers can’t tell if he’s lying)
To perfect his Spanish accent (to get support from the illegal immigrants)
To lose some weight (to avoid looking bloated and corrupted on camera)