Elections Have Consequences

In CD-10, some supporters of DeSaulnier & Buchanan have taken grief for backing a candidate, that if they won, would lead to yet another special election for their Senate or Assembly seats.

As my friend Craig Cheslog reminds us

a vacancy in the Lt. Governor's office also can have serious consequences on state issues.

Garamendi win might harm the environment : Opinion : Ventura County Star

For if Garamendi goes to Congress, he must immediately resign his current office. This would give Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a rare opportunity to appoint someone of his choosing to a statewide office that has sometimes been a dead end and other times served as a convenient step on the ladder leading to the office Schwarzenegger now holds.

More importantly, perhaps, if Garamendi leaves his present office, the balance of power would change instantly on an obscure but sometimes powerful commission he now chairs because he is lieutenant governor.

That would be the State Lands Commission