Past lieutenant governors swap stories

Eight of the 10 past living Kansas lieutenant governors met in Topeka last week, the first-ever such reunion. They had lunch with current Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson (in photo), who organized the gathering as part of a volunteering initiative he is spearheading. “There were a lot of stories told,” Parkinson said. Shelby Smith of Wichita, who served from 1975 to 1979, said the past officeholders joked about how, during their tenures, their most important duty was going to the Liberal pancake race each year. When Smith was in office, he joked that his job was to go on top of the Capitol dome and watch for approaching glaciers. Jokes aside, Parkinson said that listening to his predecessors made it clear that how much a lieutenant governor can accomplish depends on his relationship with the governor.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

3 Comments

  1. Dump Sebelius for a real Democrat
    Posted September 4, 2007 at 9:34 am | Permalink

    Well, since Parkinson’s handlers appear to own the governor also, I suspect they both dance to the same tune.

  2. thinkfirst
    Posted September 4, 2007 at 10:49 am | Permalink

    Who can even name the last 10 lieutenant governors? Who cares?

  3. JWink
    Posted September 4, 2007 at 5:59 pm | Permalink

    I seem to recall that some Kansas lieutenant governors have also served as commerce/economic development directors to give them something to do … a real job with a real income.

    Actually our Kansas government is archaic at best and is in need of updating.

    I would eliminate the office of Lieutenant Governor and distribute his duties to other office holders. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate could assume some of these duties and the succession to Governor if needed.

    Reduce size of the Kansas state Senate and House of Representatives from 40 and 125 respectively to a smaller number somehow. Maybe eliminate the State Senate altogether.

    Remember, Nebraska has a unicameral legislature, that is, only one house.

    PARTICULARLY, I WOULD ELIMINATE THE ELECTION of the State Treasurer, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner. Probably we should continue to elect the Attorney General to retain an elected state-wide official who is independent of the Governor and state legislature.

    Over the years, Kansas has eliminated some elected state-wide officials such as State Printer, Kansas Superintendent of Schools, State Auditor, etc.

    The duties of elected state-wide officials could be placed in one Finance Department with a professional Finance Director appointed by Governor and approved by state legislature.

    Hoisting these ideas up the proverbial flagpole to spark some discussion. Any legislators out there?