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Worried about your choices for California governor? Switzerland has the answer

1 1
20.10.2025

The chambers of the Federal Council in the Federal Palace of Switzerland in the capital of Berne. The Swiss executive branch is run by a Federal Council, with the presidency rotating annually among its seven members.

Are you worried that not one of the people running for California governor is up to the job?

Me, too.

So, why not elect all of them?

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OK, not all two dozen declared candidates, from evangelist Ché Ahn to Leo Zacky of Zacky Farms. But I would suggest — given the weakness of contenders and the peril of the times — allowing the top seven finishers in next year’s elections to share the job.

If this idea sounds crazy, it’s only because Americans, for too long, have submitted mindlessly to the authoritarianism of oneness. We can conceive of only one president, one governor, one God, one greatest quarterback of all time (the Brady kid from San Mateo).

That’s too bad. Because power-sharing is a superpower we need now, with a White House dictator deciding everything from the cancellation of constitutional rights to the late-night-TV lineup

In response to American authoritarianism, California should embrace alternative models, like the 

© San Francisco Chronicle