Schwarzenegger calls for a November special election

Raising the stakes in his feud with state Democrats, California Gov. &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/ 18/88/353/12422_Schwarzenegger.html ' target=_blank>Arnold Schwarzenegger has turned to the ballot process that brought him to power, calling for a November special election.

The November 8 ballot will have at least three initiatives that could change how California spends money, treats public school teachers and elects politicians.

One initiative would increase the time needed for teachers to gain tenure, raising it to five years from two. The idea is to give school districts a greater opportunity to weed out bad teachers.

A second initiative would strip the Democratic-controlled Legislature of its power to redraw political districts, giving the task to a nonpartisan panel of retired judges, tells CNN News.

According to the New York Times, the measures backed by Mr. Schwarzenegger would change the way the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2001/08/21/13024.html ' target=_blank>state budget is balanced, legislative districts are drawn and public school teachers receive tenure. All three proposals were circulated as ballot measures and have received enough signatures to qualify for an election, which would have occurred next June had a special vote not been called.

"I did not come to Sacramento and you did not send me here to repeat the mistakes of the past," Mr. Schwarzenegger said in a televised address. "With the people's help there will be reform. Our broken state government will be modernized and revitalized. And you the people will be heard."