State Governors
• Becoming and
Remaining Governor
• A Governor’s Formal
and Informal Powers
• The Job of the Governor
• Assisting the Governor
• Governors Today
Becoming and Remaining Governor
Being Governor
• Becoming governor
• Most are white males about 40–55 years old
• The number of female governors has grown in
recent years
• Most held statewide office previous
• Common path:
– Election to state legislature
– Election to statewide office
– Run for governor
• 4-year term in most states
Becoming and Remaining Governor
• Remaining governor
• Enjoy high visibility
• 74% reelection rate between 1970 and 2004
How Governors Say They Spend Their Time
Activity:
Managing state government
Working with the legislature
Meeting the general public
Performing ceremonial functions
Working with press and media
Working with federal government
Working with local government
Carrying out political activities
Recruiting and appointing
Doing miscellaneous activities
(staff, interstate, reading, phoning)
Time Spent
29%
15
14
14
9
7
7
6
6
16
Women Governors
Governor
State
Nellie Taylor Ross
“Ma” Ferguson
Wyoming
Texas
Lurleen Wallace
Ella Grasso
Dixie Lee Ray
Martha L. Collins
Madeleine Kunn
Kay Orr
Rose Mofford
Joan Finney
Ann Richards
Barbara Roberts
Ann Richards
Barbara Roberts
Alabama
Connecticut
Washington
Kentucky
Vermont
Nebraska
Arizona
Kansas
Texas
Oregon
Texas
Oregon
Term of Office
1925-1927
1925-1927
1933-1935
1967-1968
1975-1980
1977-1981
1983-1987
1985-1991
1987-1991
1988-1991
1991-1995
1991-1995
1991-1995
1991-1995
1991-1995
Women Governors
Governor
State
Christine Todd Whitman
Jeanne Shaheen
Jane Dee Hull
Judy Martz
Ruth Ann Minner
Jane Swift
Janet Napolitano
Linda Lingle
Kathleen Sebelius
Jennifer Granholm
Olene Walker
Kathleen Blanco
M. Jodie Rell
Christine Gregorie
Sarah Palin
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Arizona
Montana
Delaware
Massachusetts
Arizona
Hawaii
Kansas
Michigan
Utah
Louisiana
Connecticut
Washington
Alaska
Term of Office
1994-2001
1997-2002
1998-2002
2001-2005
2001-2009
2001-2002
2003-2009
20032003-2009
20022003-2005
2004-2008
200420052007-2010
A Governor’s Formal & Informal
Powers
Appointive Power
Fiscal and Budgetary Power
Veto Power
Executive Orders
Commander in Chief of the National Guard
Pardon Power
Help establish the legislature’s agenda.
Policy-Making Influence
Governors and Media Relations
Ranking of States
According to the Formal
Powers of the Governor
Who Runs the State?
Critical roles of Governors:
• Establishing policy agendas
• Formulating policies
• Negotiating changes with
federal agencies
• Finding funding for programs
• Administering the laws
Governors have had more
managerial control over
their states.
Party Control of the Governor’s Office
Managing the State
Modernizing State Administrations
•
•
•
•
•
Strategic planning
Systems analysis
Performance measurement and management
Customer focus
Sophisticated information technology & budgeting systems
Assisting the Governor: State Executive
Officials: Duties and powers of other top executive
officials in state government.
State Executive Officials
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Treasurer and Auditor
States with Elected Officials
SOURCE: The Book of the
States, 2000-2001 (Council of
State Governments, 2000), p.
33. Copyright by the Council of
State Governments. Reprinted
with permission.
*In Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah,
one elected official serves as
both lieutenant governor and
secretary of state. In
Tennessee, there is no
lieutenant governor, but the
Speaker of the state senate has
the additional statutory title of
lieutenant governor.
Governor
50
Attorney general
44
Lieutenant governor
42*
State treasurer
40
Secretary of state
36
Superintendent of education
14
Agriculture commissioner
13
Comptroller
13
Insurance commissioner
11
For California, review the 9 page handout on State & Local
government for detailed information on this and subsequent
slides.
Governors Today: Challenges and
Rewards
Expectations
•
•
•
•
•
Chief policy maker
Shaper of state budget
Political party leader
Chief recruiter
Inspirer, renewer of confidence
The Office of Governor of California
Eligibility – Citizen of the United States, be
qualified to vote, and a California resident for
five years immediately preceding the election.
Term – four years, starting the first Monday
after January 1. Two term limit and subject to
recall and impeachment.
The Order of Succession for the
Governor of California
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Lieutenant Governor
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Speaker of the Assembly
Secretary of State
Attorney General
Treasurer
Controller
California’s Executive Officers
Governor
Attorney General
Lieutenant Governor
Secretary of State
Controller
Superintendent of
Public Instruction
Treasurer
Insurance
Commissioner
State Board of Equalization
(4 members)
Gubernatorial Powers
1. Ceremonial and Political Leader
2. Appointment Power
3. Judicial Influence
4. Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia
5. Legislative Leader
Which official handles elections in
most states?
A. Lieutenant governor
B. Secretary of state
C. Attorney general
D. Treasurer
Governors are ____.
A. Chief policy makers
B. Chief budgetary officers
C. Political party leaders
D. All of the above
California Judicial Branch
Associate Justices Carlos R. Moreno, Joyce L. Kennard, Kathryn
Mickle Werdegar, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye , Ming W. Chin,
Marvin R. Baxter, and Carol A. Corrigan.
Method for Selection of Judges of the Court
of Last Resort
How Judges are Chosen
• Appointment by the governor
• Election by the legislature
• Popular election
Merit Selection: The Missouri Plan
• Combines features of the appointive
and elective methods
• Governor selects judges from lists
presented by panels of lawyers and
laypersons
• At the end of their term, judges may
run against their own records in
retention elections
In states with
elected judges,
campaigns can
become very
competitive
California’s three – level Judicial System
1. Supreme Court – highest court in the state,
consisting of one chief justice and six associate
justices, with original and appellate jurisdiction
and capital punishment cases.
2. Court of Appeal – 6 districts
3. Superior Court – one in each county for unlimited
jurisdiction (over $25,000), limited jurisdiction
(under $25,000) and small claims courts ($7,500)
civil cases, including personal injury
family law
guardianship cases
probate cases
criminal cases
California’s three – level Judicial System
4. California’s judicial branch consists of
1,600 judges
19,000 court employees, and
$2.6 billion annual budget
5. Department of Corrections consists of over 161,000
convicts (about 2.1% of the state population) and
about 5,000 minors in the California Youth Authority.
Housing all inmates costs over $7 billion annually.
 In the United States, more people are imprisoned than in
any other country
 Prisons: For committed criminals serving long sentences
 Jails: For short-term stays for people awaiting trial and
those with sentences of a year or less
Incarceration Rates in
Total Incarcerated
Federal and State
Population at Year End
Jurisdictions
2008
The Structure of State Courts
Minor Courts
– Municipal courts
– Magistrates
– Justice of the peace
– Town justices
– Court-watching groups
Appellate Courts
– Courts of last resort
– Judicial review
Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction State Courts &State Politics
– Original jurisdiction
– Advisory opinion
– Felonies
– Probate courts
– Courts of record
The Criminal Justice System
• The Jury
• The Prosecutor
– Informational
affidavit
– Indictment
• Defense Counsel
– Assigned counsel
system
– Pro bono
•
•
•
•
•
Public Defenders
Victims
Defendants
Plea bargaining
Sentencing