San Francisco Chronicle: Governor calls for special election

[Jack Rabbit]

EDITED to add link and story

From the San Francisco Chronicle
Dated Monday June 13

Governor calls for special election
Schwarzenegger's propositions will be a referendum on him as well
By Mark Martin, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today called a November special election that he characterized as a chance for Californians to revamp state government in a vote that will also serve as a referendum on the governor himself.

In announcing the election, Schwarzenegger is turning to his favored political tool -- the ballot box -- as a way to upend the Capitol, just as the recall election that propelled him to office 19 months ago did. The election sets the stage for a nationally watched high-stakes war for control of Sacramento involving the governor’s big business allies and Democrats and labor unions, his principal detractors.

On Nov. 8, voters will be asked to make decisions on three Schwarzenegger proposals -- involving legislative redistricting, budget and teacher tenure -- and five other initiatives that will shine a bright light on how Californians feel about their famous governor.

"The people are the ones who can cut through the chains of politics and the past," Schwarzenegger said in a televised address from his office as hundreds of protesters, many of them union members, chanted slogans outside the Capitol. "It is from the people that a democracy gets its strength. And millions of people have signed the petitions to reform the budget, education and redistricting. Today was decision day, the deadline for a special election this November."

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