From Deseret News archives:
No. 1 priority: fulfilling job as No. 2 in state
That's because, of course, it's almost always the governor who's been invited to speak, not his or her No. 2. Oveson, now the state's chief information officer, said he understands. "Having the governor come is such a big deal."
And the lieutenant governor? Well, more than half the Utahns polled just over a year ago, shortly after Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie was named to the post by Gov. Olene Walker, said they had no idea who held the office.
"I had a lady introduce me today to her family as the attorney general. That doesn't bother me," McKeachnie said. "I wasn't after recognition. My job was to make (Walker) look good. I didn't run for the job, she appointed me."
When she assumed Leavitt's office, she fulfilled one of the most important duties of lieutenant governor, taking over for a governor who chooses to leave, as in her case, or is forced to step down.
McKeachnie said he was selected by Walker in part because, unlike others who have held the post, he had no intention of running for governor himself. Walker lost her bid to stay in the governor's office at the May state GOP convention.
Huntsman's lieutenant governor, Gary Herbert, seems to know the limits of his new role. "I know No. 2 is No. 2," Herbert said. "No. 1 will make the decision ultimately. That's OK. That's the way it ought to be."
Herbert, a Utah County commissioner since 1990, was also a candidate for governor when Huntsman approached him earlier this year about joining the ticket. "I thought I was as well qualified as anyone," Herbert said. "I still do."
But he stops short of saying he'll run for governor again. "That's been put way on the back burner," Herbert said. "My goal is to have people say Jon Huntsman is the best governor that the state ever had."
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