Legislation before the Elections Committee would ask voters to create create a new post of lieutenant governor, who would run for election with the governor on the same ticket.
The lieutenant governor, presumably, would be of the same party — or at least the same political philosophy — as the state's chief executive. Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said that will guarantee some sort of continuity.
"The voters wanted a particular vision in the governor's office when they supported the governor and don't intend that to change,'' he said.
"Many people don't fully grasp that the secretary of state is the one who takes over,'' Mesnard explained. And that person could have an entirely different philosophy — meaning a radical change in policy.