[UPDATED 3:45 PM — Attached below this post is the official statement of the California Term Limits Defense Fund – worth a read…]
I note with interest that, despite the absence of a budget, Fabian Nunez has green-lighted the turning in of signatures for the ballot measure to extend his time in office by six years (and those of many of his termed-out colleagues as well).
I know from personal experience that the pitch being made by paid signature gatherers at my local store was, "Sir, will you sign a petition to cut the time career politicians can spend in office?"
So with that in mind, there is simply no way for proponents of the "Career Politician Term Extension Act" to argue that in turning over a million signatures, there is some level of ‘popular support’ for their measure. Not when the gatherers are misleading the signers.
We all know, of course, that a huge percentage of California legislators (including the Senate President and Assembly Speaker face the term-limits axe next November, and gauging every possible special interest group to write checks to their committee formed to promote this measure to extend their terms.)
Proponents have the hubris to try to say this is some sort of ‘strengthening’ of term limits by the fact that they narrowly limit the ‘overall time’ that a politican can serve in the legislature. But the reality is that most Assemblymembers never serve in the Senate, and so are in for their six years and out. Under this measure, the amount of time that legislators spend "under the dome" will go up, not down.
Um, if this measure strengthened term limits, why then would U.S. Term Limits be opposing it? Duh.
All of the polling I have seen on this issue has come cauched with a warning that if voters understand how this measure allows so many politicans to stay in office beyond the existing limits, it will lose a lot of its support (which is mixed anyways).
Stay tuned, but let’s remember that, on balance, California is much better off with citizen legislators that come from the real world, spend six or eight years in Sacramento, and come home. Yes some move houses, but the majority do not. If you need any more reason for opposing the Career Politican Term Limit Extension Act, click here.