The type of people that end up spearheading campaigns and taking leadership positions tend to be too busy with new priorities to continue previous activities. Managing staff, setting and achieving goals across a variety of disciplines, and ...leading may take the place of the inspiring moments that help justify their existence as a developer, especially overtime. It takes a specific type of person to want to take or make that change.
Though software folk are exploding in numbers (source: am one), perhaps further care and attention is needed in balancing the social skills, creativity, and growth of tenacity of those that are attempting to improve their development abilities. Particularly if we want to create techies that are smart as a whip and can also hold public office effectively.