GOP candidate Minogue says he will govern without lieutenant governor after Oliver’s arrest

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue plans to have no lieutenant governor in his administration if he wins the general election, a decision he announced after No. 2 Republican candidate Shawn Oliver suspended his campaign Sunday following a drunken driving arrest.

Oliver was arrested in New Bedford Saturday evening on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, after Oliver allegedly crashed his SUV into five parked cars and overturned his car. He was sent to hospital with injuries and local police confirmed no one else was seriously injured. He pleaded not guilty Monday morning in New Bedford District Court, according to the New Bedford Light, but suspended his statewide campaign.

Minogue had asked Oliver to suspend his campaign on Sunday morning, and at a press briefing in his hometown of Hamilton on Monday afternoon, the gubernatorial candidate outlined his plan if he wins in November.

“I’m glad he’s safe, but at this point I’ve asked him to suspend and end his campaign, and he’s not going to be my lieutenant governor,” Minogue said. “Maine and New Hampshire don’t have one, and I’m going to move forward without it.”

Ballots are already printed with Oliver’s name next to Minogue’s as the common ticket, and more than 200,000 voters have already voted early.

Minogue asked her supporters to continue “voting for me, knowing he will not be my lieutenant governor.”

“And please don’t do anything different or write in, because that would disqualify the people’s vote,” Minogue said.

He said he would ask Oliver to resign if both men were elected, then operate without a second-in-command.

Massachusetts does not have a process for replacing a lieutenant governor who resigns. The state Constitution does not allow the governor to appoint a replacement or call a special election, so the office simply remains empty until the next regular election. This was the case at the end of Governor Deval Patrick’s term, after Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray resigned a year and a half before his term ended.

The primary constitutional duty of the lieutenant governor is to fill in for the governor when he is out of the state. With that seat empty, the next person in the line of succession is the secretary of state, followed by the attorney general, treasurer, and auditor. The lieutenant governor has other duties, such as chairing the Governor’s Council, and is assigned other responsibilities depending on the administration.

Asked Monday if he was ready to take on the roles assumed by the lieutenant governor, such as chairing the Governor’s Council, Minogue said he “would have people around me who are among the experts.”

“What I’m going to focus on with my staff is bringing in one of the most knowledgeable groups with expertise. Many will be like me, in the sense that they won’t take a salary, they will volunteer to give back,” he said.

Minogue added: “And I’m very comfortable because, again, Maine and New Hampshire and other states don’t have a lieutenant governor, and I think we’ll be fine. And I’m very focused on solving problems and building an A-plus team.”

Minogue said he spoke to Oliver, but did not share many details of the conversation.

“I spoke to him. He is following the legal process. I expressed my disappointment with the judgment, I am happy that he is recovering, but he understands that he cannot and will not be my lieutenant governor,” he said.

Oliver pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday morning: driving under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and marked lane violation. He was released on condition that he not drive while the case is pending, ahead of his next court appearance on November 16.

Asked if Oliver’s not guilty plea had any impact on his decision, Minogue replied: “Whatever he’s pleading to is his process.”

“Because of what happened, he no longer has the capacity to be my lieutenant governor, and he will not be my lieutenant governor,” he said.

Oliver, a New Bedford city councilman, initially launched his campaign as the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. Before the spring Republican convention, Minogue endorsed Anne Brensley for lieutenant governor. Although she won the party’s endorsement at the convention, Brensley failed to qualify for the official ballot when she chose not to submit nomination signatures based on allegations of fraud on the part of her signature collector. Brensley is running for secretary of state instead.

Oliver was the only candidate for lieutenant governor in the September primary ballot and joined Minogue on the ticket after Minogue’s victory over Shortsleeve.

“There was a lot of drama during the convention process. I didn’t choose LG during that process. I walked in as an outsider, I said I would follow wherever the path took me,” Minogue said Monday. “I told the convention I was going to vote for Anne Brensley. Anne Brensley won first place at the convention, Anne Manning Martin won second place, and Shawn Oliver got 16%, so he got 16% of the vote. And then Anne Manning Martin was voted out because she was the victim of signature fraud, and by default, Shawn got the role of LG.”

“I would have worked with him if this hadn’t happened, I had moved on and was focusing on the campaign, but with this as a distraction and with this error in judgment, it’s not a position he will be allowed to hold,” he said. “That was the Brian Shortsleeve person, if you just look at the record.”

Minogue used Monday’s press briefing to frame the situation as her campaign taking responsibility and trying to draw a distinction between Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of a situation in which her former aide was arrested on charges of alleged cocaine trafficking. Healey says she immediately fired the aide when she learned of his arrest.

“I think it’s important to note that this is what you’re supposed to do as a leader,” Minogue said Monday. “You hold people accountable. You’re tough on the issue. You show compassion to the person. You don’t let something bad define you for the rest of your life, but there’s a responsibility that you move forward with, and we have to move forward.”

Healey holds a 25 percentage point lead over Minogue, according to the latest UMass Amherst/WCVB poll.