Judge Blocks Ravitch's Appointment As Lieutenant Governor

Guess being secretly sworn in at Peter Luger Steakhouse doesn't guarantee anything: A judge issued an injunction blocking Richard Ravitch from serving as lieutenant governor. Newsday reports, "State Supreme Court Justice William LaMarca said the injunction was needed to give the court time to hear more arguments about the constitutionality of Ravitch's appointment." LaMarca added, "Were the governor to die, resign, or be removed from office, Mr. Ravitch, if allowed to remain in office, is next in the line of succession...For an illegally appointed lieutenant governor to act as governor of the state would clearly constitute irreparable harm."

The case was heard on Long Island, where Senator Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) filed the suit; Skelos's statement said that LaMarca "ruled on behalf of the people of this state and against a governor more concerned with his poll numbers than with governance who sought to violate the state's Constitution for his own political purposes." But Governor Paterson's spokesman said, "Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor is legally sound and we are confident the appellate courts will ultimately rule in our favor. We will go to the Appellate Division, Second Department, tomorrow to seek to have the preliminary injunction lifted."

According to the NY Times, LaMarca "said that he interpreted the Constitution’s silence on the issue — it does not provide for the appointment of a lieutenant governor in the event of a vacancy — to mean that the office should 'remain vacant until such time as a governor is elected.'" Additionally, though the judge asked for a preliminary conference on August 25, it's possible, with the case going to Appellate Court, that he won't rule.