State Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill and Berks, was seriously considering running for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor this year, but, in the end, he threw his support behind Jeff Bartos. The Philadelphia real estate investor is the running mate of State Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Argall, a 1976 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, announced last fall that he was thinking about running, because he feels that the current lieutenant governor, Democrat Mike Stack, has been an embarrassment to the office.

Democrats also believe Stack is vulnerable, especially because he and Gov. Tom Wolf do not see eye-to-eye on much and rarely even meet with one another since Stack and his wife were stripped of their state police protection. Their household staff at their official residence near Harrisburg was also scaled back. This occurred because of the Stacks’ verbal abuse heaped upon members of their state police detail and members of their household staff.

Their conduct led to Wolf taking Stack to the woodshed, reprimanding him severely and taking away some of the perks of his office.

To add to the Stacks’ problems, his wife, Tonya, checked into a treatment facility to get help for a mental health issue.

Five other Democrats in addition to Stack are seeking the nomination. Three other Republicans in addition to Bartos are after the Republican nomination. Both parties’ winners will be selected in the May 15 primary elections after which they will be paired with the gubernatorial nominees for the general election run on Nov. 6.

The governor’s job pays $194,850 this year, although Wolf does not take his salary, which goes to charity. The lieutenant governor’s job pays $163,672 this year. Most elected officials get automatic annual cost-of-living wage increases. Argall, who holds a leadership position in the state Senate, has a salary of $99,410, compared with $87,180 for rank-and-file members of the Senate and state House of Representatives.

The lieutenant governor holds the second-highest executive office in the state. His main duty is to act as governor if the governor is temporarily absent from his duties. In Pennsylvania and a number of other states, the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor if he dies in office, resigns or is impeached and convicted by the legislative branch.

Five states do not have a lieutenant governor — Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wyoming. In neighboring New Jersey and Hawaii, the lieutenant governor also serves as the secretary of state.

In Pennsylvania, the lieutenant governor candidates run separately on the primary election ballots. Wolf, for example, has not endorsed any of the six Democratic candidates nor has he indicated whom he prefers as a running mate in the general election.

The six candidates are Stack; Aryanna Berringer, an internet technology manager from Westmoreland County; Keith Cozzone, a Chester County commissioner; Craig Lehman, a Lancaster County commissioner; John Fetterman, mayor of Braddock in Allegheny County; and Madeleine Dean, a state representative from Montgomery County.

The four Republican candidates for lieutenant governor are: Bartos; state Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Lancaster County; Otto Voit, a Berks County businessman; and 28-year-old Joe Gale, a Montgomery County commissioner. If Gale is the improbable winner, he cannot be sworn in at the usual ceremony in January 2019; he will have to wait two months until he turns 30, the minimum age for holding the governor’s or lieutenant governor’s jobs.

Argall wants to change the state constitution to allow gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates to run on the same ticket throughout the election process, just as the president and vice presidential candidates do. He introduced the measure last fall, and it is in committee waiting for action. For a constitutional amendment to pass, it requires approval by the General Assembly on two consecutive sessions and approval by the voters.

Of the 47 men who have served as governor, there has been just one from the Times News’ five-county area — George Wolf (no relation to the current governor) of Allen Township, Northampton County, who served from 1829-35.

Of the 33 men who have served as lieutenant governor, three have come from our area — Thomas Kennedy of Lansford, who served under Gov. George Earle from 1935-39 and later became president of the United Mine Workers of America union; John Morgan Davis of Shenandoah, who served under Gov. David Lawrence from 1959 until 1963, and Ernest Kline, born in Allentown, who served under Gov. Milton Shapp from 1971-1979. All were Democrats.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com