Arnold's Choice for Secretary of State

Governor Schwarzenegger announced over the weekend that he will nominate moderate Republican Bruce McPherson to be California's next Secretary of State. The choice is a good one, but the real question of whether California's elections will be administered in a non-partisan way remains to be answered.

Arnold is in a position to name someone from his own party to the post of Secretary of State because Kevin Shelley, the Democrat who currently fills the role, resigned in disgrace earlier this month. Shelley has been plagued by allegations that he won his last election with the help of more than $200,000 in illegally laundered campaign contributions. Shelley then created a patronage job and filled it with the son of the San Francisco donor who appears to have arranged for the illegal campaign funds. As if that wasn't enough, the state auditor released a report finding that Shelley had mishandled federal voter registration funds by giving money to partisan consultants who used the funds to promote Shelley's career.

The nomination of McPherson, a moderate Republican who is well liked by politicians of both parties, puts the Democrats in a difficult spot. Democrats had hoped that Schwarzenegger would appoint a so-called caretaker to take over the Secretary of State's office for the remaining 22 months of Shelley's term and then promise not to run for the office again. This would prevent the Republicans from gaining the advantage of incumbency in the position of Secretary of State.

Given that voters selected a Democrat to fill this office the last time they were asked, it's understandable that some Democrats would feel entitled to at least an open seat in the next election, rather than facing a sitting Republican. But given how badly Kevin Shelley squandered the public trust in carrying out his duties, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the Democrats.

Rather than asking McPherson not to run again for Secretary of State, a better solution would be to ask him not to seek higher office once he is termed out of the Secretary of State's office. In fact, the legislature should pass a requirement that no Secretary of State, regardless of his or her party, should be able to run for higher office in California for a period of six years after they serve as our state's chief election officer. This would help ensure that we have Secretaries of State who are committed to the fair, impartial administration of elections and not career politicians who are constantly looking at the next office they'll seek.

When election officers use their current positions as a springboard for future office, the rest of us lose. Remember Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who engaged in a number of questionable judgments in purging voters prior to the 2000 elections and in deciding whose ballots to count and then recount? Jeb Bush, who backed her successful effort to run for Congress, rewarded Harris for her partisan loyalty.

Ohio's current Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, served as George W. Bush's campaign chair while at the same time being responsible for administering Ohio's presidential election. Ohio voters have questioned a number of Blackwell's decisions, ranging from a dictate that voter registration forms had to be printed on special paper the lack of ample voting machines in many districts across Ohio, leading to long lines that depressed voter turnout. Many in Ohio believe that these moves were intended to reduce turnout in historically Democratic precincts.

By most accounts, Bruce McPherson is an honorable man who we hope will administer California's elections in a fair and non-partisan manner. He could do us all a great service by announcing that he will not be using his office to further his own career and by then pushing for reforms that prevent future Secretaries of State from doing so either.