The Governor Extends His Term

We may finally have an answer to what the question of what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to do after he leaves office: Convince voters to enact his policies at the ballot box.

Or, in other words, he plans to do many of the same things he's done while in office.

Schwarzenegger made this intention plain yesterday by declaring that he would seek to delay a vote on a $11 billion water bond, a measure he pushed through the legislature after years of efforts, to the 2012 ballot.

The measure is currently scheduled for this November's ballot, but is considered likely to lose, given widespread voter concern about the state budget crisis and public debt. Schwarzenegger also has other priorities on the ballot this November, including fighting an initiative that would roll back his signature climate change law and another initiative that would eliminate the state redistricting commission he has championed.

Schwarzenegger and the bond's other backers think they may have a better chance in 2012. The governor presumably would campaign then.

In fact, it's quite possible that Schwarzenegger could spend part of the rest of his life campaigning to defend and advance the polices and measures enacted while he was in office. California's system of direct democracy, which requires that measures enacted by voters can only be changed by voters, produces a political dynamic that encourages constant votes and re-votes on the same issues.

So get some rest, governor. Your political retirement promises to be busy.

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