Abel Maldonado, Gavin Newsom set to debate

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Republican Abel Maldonado and Democrat Gavin Newsom will face off at 3 p.m. Thursday in a debate between the two major party candidates for California lieutenant governor.

Maldonado, a former state senator, was appointed to the post by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year. He is seeking election to his first full term. Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, is seeking the job after dropping out of the Democratic race for governor late last year.

The job of lieutenant governor is largely ceremonial, but the ‘lite gov,’ as the person holding that post is referred to in Capitol circles, sits on a number of key boards and commissions. Among them are the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University Board of Trustees and the State Lands Commission.

Thursday’s debate will be hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and will be held in Sunnyvale, Calif. PolitiCal will provide live coverage of the debate.

The debate also will stream live online here.

-- Anthony York