L.A. County passed a similar law, Measure B, with 63 percent of the vote in 2002. Beginning with their first election after 2002, the measure limits county supervisors to three consecutive four-year terms.

Because of the limits and assuming they are re-elected in 2012, Fifth District Supervisor Michael Anontovich and Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe will be forced out of office in 2016.

Third District Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and First District Supervisor Gloria Molina, both of whom are running for re-election tomorrow unopposed, will have to leave office in 2014.

District Two Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected in 2008.

Thirty years ago, Antonovich was the last candidate to beat an incumbent supervisor, which explains why no one runs against them anymore.

Yaroslavsky told KPCC earlier this year that the county is in much better financial shape than the City of Los Angeles and the state because of the lack of term limits affecting the service of the Board of Supervisors until 2002.

"Up until recently, we didn't have term limits, so we have the benefit of experience...we take a longer view of our jobs and we don't panic," Yaroslavsky said at the time. "We have the benefit of perspective and experience and I think that has helped us navigate these waters much more successfully than others have."

It's questionable whether term limits have really been the key to making the county's financial woes slightly better.

The people of L.A. County felt their elected leaders had, like monarchs of centuries ago, become unresponsive to their desires.

In San Diego, the impetus for the proposition is a $100 million "slush fund" that supervisors have used to benefit their friends and causes while the county still does not have a fire department.

Stability seems great in the face of a volatile economy, but maintaining the status quo also means little improvement and politics as usual. Business leaders against San Diego's proposition have been using the same arguments as Yaroslavsky.

If San Diego County voters do approve Proposition B, what happens in L.A. County after 2012 will offer some insight into what they can expect a few years later. The sad irony is that San Diegans will probably approve new terms tomorrow for two supervisors who have served together for the past 15 years.

At least unlike L.A. supervisors, they have to fight a little for re-election because those races feature more than just one horse.

Sheriff Lee Baca, who successfully challenged a three-term limit imposed on his position by voters in 2002, is also running for re-election Tuesday without a challenger.