How many people can recall who their governor is?

[Joe Iliff]

All the talk about the recall election in California has got me asking this question:

"How many people can recall their governor?" or "How many people can remember who their governor is?"

The media used to regularly conduct polls asking the general public if they can name the president, the vice president, their governor, find the USA on a globe, etc., but I haven't seen any recently.

Anyone out there have any idea if Americans are more aware of who their elected leaders are?

What about other countries? Can your citizens more regularly name your prime ministers and governor generals?

 

[Repo Man]

Re: How many people can recall their governor?

We can recall any elected official, provided the recall drive starts no earlier than 1 year after that official takes office. There was recall fever here last year after a County pension scandal broke. A friend of mine got elected in one of the recall elections.

I would not doubt that this "watch dog" group called Citizens for Responsible (read:Rebublican) Government will try and get momentum for a recall of Wisconsin's Guv. Jim Doyle come January because he vetoed a property tax freeze this past week.

 

[donk]

our govenor general is adrien clarkson, remember her role is pretty much an honourary one with no real powers associated with it. Premiers are our equivalent to governors.

I am pretty sure the only province with recall legislation is BC (surprise surprise). Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Now ask me who the lieutenant governor of any province and i'll have a really hard time answering that.

 

[Cardinal]

Repo is right about the recal thing here. A local candidate for the council (who lost in a coin toss - tied election) wants to recall his opponent. A quote: He "should be replaced by me." This guy thinks the seated councilperson is being led by the nose. In reality, he is the one who is being played like a puppet in a different battle that is unfolding. Of course, the councilperson has only been in office for three months, so the recal fell flat on its face before it ever started.

 

[Greenescapist]

None of the states I've lived in - Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia - have laws that permit citizens to recall their governor. The whole situation in CA seems so strange to me. I mean, who would want to be governor of a state with a $38b deficit and a bunch of babies for legislators?

Prediction: Gray Davis survives and this whole recall effort was a giant waste of taxpayer money.

 

[otterpop]

I can certainly recall Montana's governor - Judy "I Want to Be a Lapdog of Industry" (a direct quote, I might add) Martz. And there are a lot of people in Montana who would love to see her recalled.

It is pretty embarassing to live in a state where the governor of the state did not finish high school. Oh sure, she has a GED, but come on. The chief exec of the state! She is in way over her head and doesn't have a lot of support in her party for reelection in 2004.

As far as the recall election in California, it seems like a waste of time and money. When I was a kid, we would occasionally have "do overs" during games, but aren't we all a little too old that now. This is democracy, not stickball.

 

[Zoning Goddess]

It would be hard to forget who ours is, since he's Dubya's little brother. Oh, and married to that woman who tried to scam Customs....

 

[Wulf9]

We Californian's have the worst of both worlds. Dubya for Pres and Gray for Gov. Both are so deep into their special interest supporters that they forget they are chief execs of a major government operations. Both are presiding over record deficits that will adversely effect their constituents for years to come. Both have organizations and funding that gets them elected, but governing seems to be a mystery to them after they are elected.

 

[The Irish One]

I second that Wulf9

 

[Rem]

In Australia each state has a Governor (NSW has Marie Bashir). While most people would know their own state governor, few would know another state's unless there had been a controvery or they were famous before being appointed (such as a sports star). The Governor General is Michael Jeffery and he is probably not well known yet because there was great controversy over his predecessor (Peter Hollingworth) who resigned early.

As in Canada, the Governors and Governors General largely have ceremonial duties, though they can exercise Executive power in unusual circumstances - such as sacking the government. They are the Queen's representative and are bound to take the counsel of the Prime Minister (Federal) or Premier (State) of the day. They tend to be father (mainly men) figures and tend to become well liked by the general population (Peter Hollingworth was the exception). PH's predecessor was Sir William Deane - the only Governor General I have met - he is a very warm, humorous, compassionate man who is universally, highly regarded in Australia.

Virtually everyone (the permanently bewildered excepted) would know the name of the Prime Minister - it is currently John Howard. Americans would recognise JH as the short guy standing behind George Bush, during speeches prior to the invasion of Iraq, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary. A member of our opposition described him as an arse-licker after his last visit to Washington. Even his supporters would have a wry smile over that insult.

 

[SkeLeton]

For the regions, the president designates the intendent as a trust position. Provinces have their Governor designated by the president too..so we just elect mayors, congresspeople, senators and presidents.

PS: As a reminder, here's the geopolitical subdivision used in Chile: Country/Republic ->Regions (13) -> Provinces (51) ->Comunas (Counties) and the people in charge are President (duh!) ->Intendent -> Governor ->Mayor.