Bill would strip governor's power to fill Senate vacancy
1:17 PM Fri, Mar 06, 2009 | Permalink
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By Kathy Gregg PROVIDENCE, RI -- A bill to strip Rhode Island's governor of power to appoint a replacement for a U.S. Senator who dies in office or resigns in mid-term is headed for a House vote Tuesday under the cloud of a potential veto. Allegations that former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama prompted the filing of the legislation by freshman Rep. Christopher Fierro, D-Woonsocket. The bill would require a special election unless the vacancy occurs after July 1 of an election year. In that case, the vacancy would be filled during the regular general electoral cycle. In response to an inquiry earlier this week, Governor Carcieri stopped short of a veto threat. But spokeswoman Amy Kempe said: "In general, the governor does not believe the bill is necessary. "The situation only arises once in a great while. There has never been a problem in Rhode Island (not to mention most other places, except with the most recent and extraordinary situation in Illinois) with the governor appointing until the next election,'' she said. Beyond that, she said Carcieri believes: "It's a waste of money to hold a special election, especially when there is nothing wrong with the current process. As an aside, I believe if this law passes, Rhode Island would be one of less than a handful of states that would require an immediate election.'' But Fierro said he "cannot fathom why he (Carcieri) would have a problem with this.... [when] he claims to stand for good government.'' He said no one gets appointed to the General Assembly when there is an opening. The choice is left to voters. He said he has not heard a "good argument why we cannot do that for a U.S. Senator.'' Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee first went to Washington to represent Rhode Island as an appointee of then-Gov. Lincoln C. Almond, a Republican, after the death of his father, GOP Sen. John H. Chafee. A version of Fierro's bill was introduced last year after speculation arose that U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat, might step down to take a Cabinet position in an Obama administration. That would have left the appointment to Republican Governor Carcieri. But that bill stalled, and Reed has continued to deny interest in leaving his seat for another job. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Rhode Island is one of 38 states in which the governor appoints replacements to open U.S. Senate seats until the next regularly scheduled general election is held. In a handful of those states -- Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and Wyoming -- the appointee must be of the same political party as that of the departing senator. Another 12 states require special elections to fill the remainder of the unexpired term, including Vermont and Massachusetts, though the governor there has a 145-160 day window between the opening and election in Massachusetts, and the governor is empowered to make an interim appointment, according to the NCSL. Extra: Read a summary of how states replace U.S. Senators when there is a vacancy 
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"I'll take "pointless grab for power by the General Assembly" for $200, Alex!"
But seriously - don't you second-raters have anything better to do?
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Now, let me understand this correctly, a Democrat wants to legislate that the Governor's legislation should be null and void when replacing a seat Senator, correct?
Get, I wonder what nutbag Fierro had in mind?
I mean, there are so many braindead Democrats in this state that there isn't a short supply of them.
Is Fierro related to anyone in power other than himself?
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Between this and the youth sports bill, they are spending all their time fixing what isn't broken instead of rectifying what is.
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fierro and tassoni should resign their seats immediately.this is what the democratic political machine in rhode island is about.someone should put a muzzle on these clowns
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In a handful of those states -- Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and Wyoming -- the appointee must be of the same political party as that of the departing senator.
I agree with this, the people of RI, elected a democrat to sit and a democrat should be replaced by another Dem. If there is a Republican there, which there never should be, then a Rep. will replace him or her.
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Sarah
http://www.lyricsdigs.com
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I don't get the hostility from opponents here -- elections are a part of representative democracy, and EVERY person serving in the U.S. House of Representatives has been elected. Let's bring that same principle to the U.S. Senate.
The mess in Illinois and other states filling vacancies this past winter show the current system is no replacement for representative democracy.
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