From the San Francisco Chronicle
Dated Monday June 13
Governor assailed over special election
Critics see today's expected move as a misuse of state's initiative process
By Carla Marinucci and John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writers
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for a special election today on his initiatives to change state government -- even as critics charge that by pushing for a November vote, the California governor is warping the process that allows citizens to take issues to the ballot.
Consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield told the Commonwealth Club of California that Schwarzenegger is guilty of "an abuse of executive power'' in calling a Nov. 8 special election.
"Never before, to our knowledge, has a sitting governor invoked his constitutional authority to call a special election when the only purpose of the election is the enactment of his own ballot measures,'' said Rosenfield, the founder and former president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, who spearheaded Proposition 103 in 1988 to roll back auto insurance rates.
Schwarzenegger, Rosenfield said, "has done more to undermine and corrupt the initiative process than anyone in state history.''
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