Abel was I ere I saw Darrell (UPDATED)

If you thought the Democrats would welcome the appointment of Abel Maldonado to lieutenant governor in hopes of picking up his Senate seat in a special election, think again.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is saying today that such an election would be too costly. Here's his statement:

Senator Maldonado is a fine colleague, but I have grave doubts about filling this position with any sitting elected official for two significant reasons.

First, confirming Senator Maldonado will necessitate a special election to fill his Senate seat.  According to state elections officials, such an election would cost taxpayers more than $2 million.  Rather than using taxpayer money to pay for an avoidable election, it may be wiser to use that $2 million to defray recent fee increases in our higher education system.  For example, $2 million would significantly reduce the Winter/Spring 2010 fee increases for UC students, or it would cover the recent $6 per unit increase for 333,000 course units for community college students.  

Second, just months from now Californians will choose their own nominees for the job of Lieutenant Governor.  And the voters will elect a new Lieutenant Governor to a four-year term less than one year from now.  It may be both fiscally and politically prudent to permit the people to make their own selection for this statewide office next year and avoid the expense of a costly special election.

If Maldonado were a stock, now would be the time to sell. If only there were somebody out there who didn't hold an elected office...

UPDATE: The governor's office is calling b.s.:

If Senator Steinberg acts promptly and confirms Senator Maldonado as California's next Lieutenant Governor within 84 days, the Governor will consolidate the 15th district's special election with the statewide June election to save tax payer dollars. If Senator Steinberg is concerned about state revenues and college tuition hikes he should stop fighting his own pay cut.

UPDATE 2: Steinberg:

To fill the Maldonado seat, there will almost certainly be two elections:  1) a primary, and 2) a run-off.  It is only possible to consolidate one of those two elections with the June primary.  Thus, there will have to be at least one unconsolidated election for the 15^th SD, which would involve 5 separate county election offices.  The cost of administering one such election is estimated at $2 million.  That number is based on the most recent Senate special election to fill SD 26 (Curren Price) and what we've been told by the Secretary of State's office.