Where’s Arnold?

“I’ll be back” is one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature lines. It’s also about the only thing he tells the media when he leaves the state.

As The Times’ Peter Nicholas reported, the governor frequently takes off on his private jet without notice and without saying where he is going. Consider last weekend. The governor’s office announced Friday evening that he had “left the state.” It turns out he was in Sun Valley, Idaho, for a weekend of relaxation. His press secretary declined to say when Schwarzenegger would return.

No one begrudges the governor some private time, or even a real vacation. As a movie star, Schwarzenegger had good reason to fly under the radar. But a governor has obligations to a higher authority than the head of Columbia TriStar: the people of California. Schwarzenegger gave up a measure of privacy when he ran for office.

Generally, the people have a right to know where their governor is, says Peter Scheer of the California First Amendment Coalition. After all, another official becomes acting governor in his absence. As it happened, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat, was in China last weekend, so the mantle of authority fell to Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco).

These days, the governor is expected to visit the site of a natural disaster or major news event quickly. Keeping the governor’s location a secret could at the least complicate a quick state response in such a case, and perhaps leave people wondering who’s in charge.

We’re not asking for the governor’s personal cellphone number, just to know where he’s going and when he’ll be back. After that, it’s hasta la vista, baby.