ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER RUNS FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

· Schwarzenegger 3,476,301 - 47.8% · Bustamante 2,354,483 - 32.4% · McClintock 958,720 - 13.2%

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seething over taxes and red ink, voters dumped the unpopular Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with political novice Arnold Schwarzenegger. Davis, the Democrat who presided over California's economy as it careened from boom to bust, was recalled Tuesday less than a year into his second term.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, the recall was favored by 4,091,181 voters or 54.3 percent, and opposed by 3,437,940 voters or 45.7 percent. Among the replacement candidates, Schwarzenegger was ahead with 3,476,301 votes, or 47.8 percent of the vote; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante had 2,354,483 votes, or 32.4 percent; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock had 958,720 votes, or 13.2 percent; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo had 205,210 votes, or 2.8 percent.

Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican with tons of charisma but virtually no political experience, was easily elected among candidates to replace Davis just two months after shocking even his closest aides when he declared his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

The action movie hero may find that the hardest part is yet to come. He will need to quickly assemble an administration and work with a Democrat-controlled Legislature to close a projected $8 billion shortfall for next fiscal year. Schwarzenegger scheduled an afternoon press conference Wednesday to discuss the transition.

"We have tough choices ahead," Schwarzenegger said in declaring victory. "The first choice that we must make is the one that will determine our success. Shall we rebuild our state together or shall we fight amongst ourselves, create even deeper divisions and fail the people of California? Well, let me tell you something - the answer is clear. For the people to win, politics as usual must lose."

"Tonight, the voters did decide it's time for someone else to serve, and I accept their judgment," said Davis, the career public servant who became the first California governor and the second in the nation ever to be recalled.

"I'm calling on everyone... to put the chaos and division of the recall behind us and do what's right for this great state of California," Davis said.

Barring a legal challenge, Schwarzenegger will be sworn in no later than Nov. 16 to serve out the remaining three years of Davis' term. First the vote must be certified, a process that can take more than a month. He would then be up for re-election in 2006.

Schwarzenegger prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign's final days, including allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women.

"The truth of the matter is this recall, 2 million people put it on the ballot because they're upset about the economy, upset about the deficit, they're upset about energy and they're upset about the education," Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "And the truth of the matter is the voters never took their eye off the ball."

Schwarzenegger will need to turn in a budget plan by Jan. 10, giving him just a few months to deliver on campaign-trail promises not to raise taxes or cut education spending, which consumes roughly 40 percent of California's budget. Throughout the campaign, Schwarzenegger refused to say what he would cut, but painful program slashing undoubtedly looms.

He also promised to repeal this year's tripling of the state vehicle license fee, although he has not said how he would make up the $4 billion that would cost.

You asked: Will the California recall election trigger new recall movements in other states?

Schwarzenegger must work with Democrats, who are a majority of both houses in the Legislature and hold all statewide offices except his newly won governorship.

He dismissed the problem on the campaign trail, saying he knew how to work with Democrats because he's married to one - Kennedy relative Maria Shriver. In practice, it's likely to be a thornier issue.

Despite the rancorous recall race, Bustamante and other Democratic officeholders quickly pledged to put partisanship behind them and work with the new governor.

"As I see it, we campaign as partisans but we govern as Californians," said Bustamante, who will remain in office until his term expires in 2006. "I know how to balance a budget and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work."

Schwarzenegger, 56, weathered last-minute allegations from 16 women who said he groped them or made unwanted sexual advances, and accusations that as a young man he spoke admiringly of Adolf Hitler.

He denied the Hitler claims, which also were rebutted by associates, and dismissed some of the groping allegations as lies while admitting he "behaved badly sometimes."

By the time those charges surfaced, voters' desire to oust the deeply unpopular Davis was too sharp to curb.

Exit polling showed that many Hispanics and union members - two key groups in Davis' past electoral successes - deserted him as he suffered extraordinarily low job approval ratings amid widespread discontent about the state's economy, according to voter surveys conducted for The Associated Press and other news organizations by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

But the recall was more than a message to Davis, said former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who called the result a warning shot to all incumbent officeholders.

"It's a revolt of people who are increasingly angry at the crises that face them, and at the failure of leadership," Panetta said. "If I were a Republican, I wouldn't get too cocky about what happened."

Schwarzenegger's improbable rise to political power played out before a rapt international audience. He campaigned as an outsider, borrowing a line from the movie "Network" to tell charged-up supporters that "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"

The campaign included a parade of bit players among the 135 candidates, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, former child actor Gary Coleman and a porn actress who wanted to tax breast implants. But to many Californians, it was serious business.

"I'm horrified at the thought that Schwarzenegger can be our governor," said Gretchen Purser, 25, of Berkeley, who voted against recall. "I'm sick of Republicans trying to take over the state."

Ed Troupe, 69, of Thousand Oaks, voted yes for recall and for Schwarzenegger. "As far as I'm concerned," he said, "Gray Davis is one of the dirtiest politicians I've ever encountered."

Voters also rejected Proposition 54, a contentious initiative that would have banned state and local governments from tracking race in everything from preschools to police work. Californians also said no to Proposition 53, which would have set aside up to 3 percent of the state budget every year to build and rebuild infrastructure.

Oct. 2 (ABC7) — In Assignment 7, an election profile on Gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career was called Pumping Iron. He played himself, the Austrian body builder who came to the United States to become a star.

During the next decade, he lived that dream with a series of blockbuster movies and a storybook marriage to Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family.

Last year, Schwarzenegger made his first major foray into politics, pushing Proposition 49. It was supposed to create after-school programs, but never went into effect because there's no money to pay for it. Stay current! Get abc7news.com news reports delivered right to your inbox for free.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, candidate for governor: "I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house."

At first, Schwarzenegger blasted Governor Davis for taking money from special interests and pledged to pay for his campaign himself.

Schwarzenegger: "I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty myself."

He's already contributed $5 million of his own to the campaign. But he has also accepted $12 million in donations from others, much of it from business interests.

Schwarzenegger: "The most important thing is to create a positive business environment."

Schwarzenegger says one key to turning around the economy is reforming workers compensation. Governor Davis signed a reform package two days ago, but Schwarzenegger says it doesn't go far enough.

Schwarzenegger: "I will go in there and immediately put a spending cap on those guys and say no more spending. From now on we only can spend the money that we make."

But as a Republican, Schwarzenegger may find his plan is a tough sell in Sacramento.

ABC7's Laura Marquez: "How would you as governor get a budget through a Democrat-controlled legislature when you need that two-thirds majority vote?"

Schwarzenegger: "You can not look at the opposite, the party that is not your party, but is the other party, like the Democrats … you don't look at them as enemies, you look at them as your friends that you want to work with."

Schwarzenegger admits he's a political novice and has surrounded himself with advisors. He held what he called an education summit to talk about improving schools.

Schwarzenegger: "What we want to do is get rid of Sacramento dictating down to them what to do, let them decide what they need to do. That's how you get efficiency."

But when pressed about which state mandated school programs he might cut, Schwarzenegger asked an advisor to step in.

On energy, he would try to renegotiate the contracts Governor Davis signed with power producers and he thinks we need to build power plants faster.

Schwarzenegger: "Let's bring private investors in here, build more energy plants and let's get our state government out of competing with the private sector."

Schwarzenegger wants to roll back the tripling of the vehicle license fee and repeal the law giving drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.

He says the most important thing he would bring to the governor's office is leadership.

Schwarzenegger: "I could just no longer stand by and watch those politicians neglect the people of this great state."

LOS ANGELES -- Whether he'll become governor of California is still to be determined, but if he does, a professional hand analyst who examined Arnold Schwarzenegger's palm print at Grauman's Chinese Theatre said she sees "tremendous leadership ability."

"There is this odd kind of Teddy bear thing mixed with warrior energy," said Beth Davis as she traced her finger into the well of the actor's palm print in the landmark Hollywood theater's courtyard Sunday.

More than 180 celebrities have immortalized their hands, and in some cases their feet, at Grauman's. Schwarzenegger left his imprints on July 15, 1994, next to his signature and his famous promise, "I'll be back."

Davis, who isn't related to the current California governor, Gray Davis, was preparing for an interview with England's BBC Radio 5 news network when she examined the Schwarzenegger impression.

BBC producer Chris Vallance had contacted her, asking if she could add a sense of fun to the California recall election for listeners back home.

"Anything can happen in the United States," Daniel Miguel, 30, a businessman from Venezuela, said as he studied Schwarzenegger's hand and boot prints.

Schwarzenegger is running as a Republican candidate for the position of state governor if Davis is removed from office in Tuesday's election

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-schwarzenegger-palm-reading,0,4463717.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Politics - Eager to respond to questions from the press about his positions on important issues facing California, gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked trusted political gurus to tell him what his most deeply held, passionate beliefs are, sources say.

"For the last several weeks, many of you have been asking me what my stance is on the abortion issue," the actor said at a recent press conference. "Now that I have discussed the issue with my advisors, I can tell you that I am firmly pro-choice, as I have been my entire life."

Reading from a set of carefully printed note cards, the candidate also stated that he is strongly in favor of environmental protection and welfare reform but fiercely opposed to affirmative action.

At one point, Schwarzenegger announced that he was, and always has been, against gun control, when advisor William Schultz interrupted him and whispered in his ear. "As I was saying," the candidate continued, "I am, and always have been, in favor of gun control."

Schwarzenegger added that his advisors have not yet told him what his views are on the war on drugs and health care reform, but that his staff is debating the issues and will soon provide him with specific, unshakable opinions on those topics.

Asked what he thinks about the death penalty and illegal immigration, the actor said, "I'm glad you asked that, and I have very strong beliefs on those issues. I'll answer that question first thing tomorrow."

SACRAMENTO - A group of leading California environmental organizations - Sierra Club California, the California League of Conservation Voters and Vote the Coast -- responded today to Arnold Schwarzenegger's pending environmental statement scheduled for Sunday in Santa Barbara, warning voters that the lack of a record to measure him by pits his statements against his personal choices.

"Schwarzenegger is not the environmental candidate in this race. He has no record, no experience making tough choices," said Rico Mastrodonato, executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV). "When it comes to candidates who don't have a record, voters need to look at the company they keep. The majority of Schwarzenegger's closest advisors are the same people who worked for former Governor Wilson, who spent 8 years attacking our air, water and coast."

The grassroots groups noted that Schwarzenegger did not respond to their invitation to participate in an environmental endorsement process. The groups make voting recommendations to voters after evaluating candidates through a process that includes research on candidates' environmental records, a standard questionnaire that seeks candidates' answers on current environmental issues, and an in-person interview.

Schwarzenegger is expected to announce this weekend a proposal to set up a hydrogen "super-highway."

"The hydrogen economy claim is an attempt to dodge the real issues. It is at least 20 years away. We need real pollution reduction now, and we can get them from a variety of fuel efficiency, and clean vehicle technologies that exist today," added Mastrodonato.

The groups said Schwartzenegger's late day conversion raises questions about his past behavior. Schwarzennegger is the most well known public face associated with the gas guzzling Hummer. They noted that his ties to the "urban tank" and the owner of the company that manufactures it are cause for concern. AM General, the manufacturer of the Hummer is owned by Ira Rennert of the privately held Renco Group. Rennert who has been labeled "the biggest polluter in America," owns a host of companies currently being sued by the federal EPA for gross pollution violations. Schwarzenegger claims that he receives no monetary compensation based on his promotion of the Hummer, though acknowledges Hummer has donated to his favorite charities; one charity received $13.5 million dollars in 2001. However, the financial disclosure forms Schwarzenegger filed for Classic Productions in 2002 list Hummer as a source of income over $10,000.

"Schwarzenegger is responsible for glorifying the gas-guzzling Hummer to the American public. While environmental groups were working to make cars get better gas mileage in order to combat global warming, Schwarzenegger was essentially sending the automobile industry in the opposite direction," said Susan Jordan, legislative liaison of Vote the Coast. "The reality is that he may be able to spend the money to retrofit his own Hummer, but it is questionable whether an affordable technology is there to change the entire fleet in the near future."

The groups are united in their opposition to the recall of Governor Davis, and warn voters that a recall could point to oil drilling off the coast, smog in the air and toxins in drinking water. Last week the groups announced they are supporting Cruz Bustamante for the second part of the ballot.

"If you care about your health, if you care about the environment you will vote "No" on the recall of Governor Davis and "Yes" for Cruz Bustamante," said Bill Magavern, legislative representative for Sierra Club California. "In the event the recall is successful, we support Cruz Bustamante because he is the only candidate with a real record and experience to safeguard California's air, water and coast."

For more information about the recall and other environmental endorsements, visit www.Votethecoast.org and www.sierraclub.org.

Buffett Minimizes Role in Schwarzenegger Campaign

Sacramento Bee ^ | 9/9/03 | Margery Beck/AP

Posted on 09/09/2003 3:17 PM PDT by NYC Republican

Multibillionaire investor Warren Buffett minimized his role in California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign on Tuesday, saying he is only one of 18 economic advisers to the Hollywood actor. "He's serious about taking in everybody's views, and mine is just one of 18," Buffett said about Schwarzenegger, a Republican. "He's kind of a policy wonk."

Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., commented on Schwarzenegger's campaign at a groundbreaking ceremony for a coal-fired electricity plant that Berkshire-owned MidAmerican Energy is building on Iowa's western border.

Buffett faced questions over how seriously Schwarzenegger is taking his advice.

As the head of Schwarzenegger's Economic Recovery Council with former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, Buffett suggested last month that California's property taxes are too low. Schwarzenegger quickly rejected that unpopular advice.

Schwarzenegger even kidded that if Buffett made the suggestion again, he would make the 73-year-old Buffett perform 500 sit-ups.

Buffett said he's taking that threat to heart, declining to comment on California's beloved anti-property tax measure Proposition 13.

"I couldn't do 500 sit-ups between now and the election," Buffett joked.

Schwarzenegger is one of more than 100 candidates seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who is the subject of a recall election on Oct. 7. Recall supporters have blamed Davis for the state's $38 billion budget deficit and his handling of the energy crisis which led to rolling blackouts throughout the state in 2001.

Buffett, a longtime Democrat and seemingly odd choice as a Schwarzenegger adviser, doesn't take offense to his advise being publicly rejected by Schwarzenegger.

"It's his campaign," Buffett said. "He makes the decisions."

Buffett describes himself as a friend of Schwarzenegger's, but said his interest in the California recall election transcends friendship.

Had Schwarzenegger not run and former Los Angeles mayor Dick Riordan had, Buffett said he would just as likely have been advising Riordan, a Republican.

"If he had asked me, I would have," Buffett said

From the Los Angeles Times

THE RECALL CAMPAIGN / DISPATCHES

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

The actor assembles a team of education advisors and promises to give more local control to schools

By Joe Mathews

Times Staff Writer

September 11, 2003

SAN JOSE — Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a team of education advisors on Wednesday that includes classroom teachers, district superintendents and his own mother-in-law, and vowed to give local officials more control over schooling.

After a nearly two-hour meeting with the 24-member panel, which is chaired by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Schwarzenegger told reporters that he wanted to reduce federal and state involvement in education and return more "local control" to the schools.

He declined to identify specific areas of over-regulation, though an advisor cited restrictions on teacher hiring and scheduling as examples.

"There's a philosophic difference" with Davis, Schwarzenegger said. "He thinks Sacramento should say down to the schools what to do."

At the same time, Schwarzenegger seemed to embrace several tools that Davis has supported for checking on student progress.

Schwarzenegger endorsed the state's current system of student testing, as well as state standards on curriculum and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which created a federal mandate for student academic progress across the country.

Asked if there was a contradiction between his support for such measures and his desire for local control, Schwarzenegger replied that government-mandated tests and standards provide individual teachers with information to tell them "what is the result of my program So there's no contradiction at all."

Schwarzenegger also endorsed charter schools, which are public schools that have been exempted from some regulations to encourage innovation. His panel included Jennifer Andaluz, co-founder and executive director of San Jose's Downtown College Preparatory.

"We need more and better charters," Schwarzenegger said, adding that he does not back private school vouchers because voters have rejected voucher initiatives and because "we have to support our public schools."

Among the panelists were Jaime Escalante, the retired Garfield High School calculus teacher who was the subject of the movie "Stand and Deliver;" former Los Angeles Unified School District board chairwoman Caprice Young; the superintendents of the San Jose, Elk Grove and Fresno County school districts; and Michael L. Hardman, chief educational advisor to the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in Washington, D.C. (Kennedy, who was killed in World War II, was an uncle of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver.)

Schwarzenegger also named his mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, to the panel. She said she came to discuss special education issues, an expertise she has developed through her support of the Special Olympics and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation.

"You did not come out for nothing, Eunice," Schwarzenegger told Shriver during the opening of the education summit before reporters were asked to leave.

Shriver said she had never before supported a Republican, but added: "I agree with something he has done. He's done a lot of great work for handicapped children" through the Special Olympics.

She noted that she disagrees with her brother, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who as a Democrat is not supporting the Republican Schwarzenegger. She hinted that she doesn't care for the recall, adding, "I think the people have made up their minds — I'm not a resident of California."

Referring to her son-in-law, she said: "I think he'd be a very good governor."

The education team also included an appointee of Gov. Gray Davis: California State University Board of Trustees Chairman Bill Hauck, who was originally named to that panel by Gov. Pete Wilson but was reappointed by Davis to an eight-year term.

"They asked me to be on the round table. It doesn't imply any endorsement by me," Hauck said. "But [Schwarzenegger] was at the meeting to learn, which is a good thing. Whether he would be able to achieve things that Davis has not been able to achieve is something we'll see." Participants said that Schwarzenegger's team took a dim view of California education, despite recent gains in test scores and some improvements in education funding under Davis.

William G. Ouchi, a professor at UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management and author of a recent book on school reform, launched the closed-door meeting with a series of statistics — mostly drawn from the results of a test called the National Assessments of Educational Progress — that show California's fourth- and eighth-graders failing to meet "proficiency" standards.

Among the issues discussed in the meeting, participants said, were incentives to attract more math and science teachers to urban schools, student access to books and materials, reading and writing curricula, and how to reduce paperwork for teachers and principals.

Schwarzenegger said he mostly was the student during the session. "We had a terrific meeting where I could learn a lot," he said.

Times staff writer Allison Hoffman in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Veterans of scandal join team

Ex-Quackenbush consultants are hired by Schwarzenegger.

By Gary Delsohn -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, August 14, 2003

He's vowed to "clean up Sacramento," but Arnold Schwarzenegger has hired a handful of campaign consultants who were heavily involved in the scandal that drove disgraced state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush from office.

One Quackenbush consultant hired by Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign, Jeff Randle, co-wrote a memo outlining how Quackenbush could enhance his image with money from insurance firms that mishandled Northridge earthquake claims.

Another, Don Sipple, produced controversial TV ads featuring Quackenbush and paid for with insurance company money. A third consultant, Marty Wilson, used money from insurers to do political polling for Quackenbush designed to gauge his chances for higher office. A fourth, Quackenbush political consultant Joe Shumate -- who a legislative report said played a "central role" in the plan -- is discussing a position with the Schwarzenegger campaign.

On a day Schwarzenegger touted a prized recruit -- renowned investor Warren Buffett as a senior financial and economic adviser -- critics Wednesday slammed his hiring of the former Quackenbush consultants.

"I cannot believe he is going to squander his opportunity to establish himself as the outsider he says he is," said consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield, who supports the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.

"Nothing could be more inside the political structure that has so offended Californians than to hire Chuck Quackenbush's political consultants. This is a strategic blunder of monumental proportions. It makes me wonder whether he's up to the task."

Art Torres, head of the state Democratic Party, said Schwarzenegger's hiring the consultants represents either "incredible arrogance or incredible naivete."

"I don't think he gets it," Torres said of the Republican movie star making his first run for office. "I don't think he reads the newspaper except for the (entertainment) section. How can he not know about these guys and their baggage?"

Schwarzenegger, who gave $1 million to his campaign on Tuesday, called Buffett "my mentor and my hero" at the same time that his aides scoffed at the criticism over the appointment of the former Quackenbush consultants.

"This is yet another sad and pathetic attempt by the Democrats to throw lawn chairs in front of the freight train that is the Schwarzenegger campaign," spokesman Sean Walsh said of the Quackenbush issue.

"The roles that will be played by some of the individuals the Democrats are mentioning are organizational ones, and the overall drive of the campaign is with Arnold and individuals like Warren Buffett."

Once considered a rising star in California's Republican Party, Quackenbush resigned in July 2000 rather than face impeachment proceedings after disclosures that he allowed insurance companies to funnel money into foundations promoting his political future instead of paying much higher fines for improperly handling Northridge earthquake claims.

As the program unraveled in a series of legislative hearings, it was disclosed that Shumate, Sipple, Randle and Wilson or their firms each received six-figure payments from the foundations -- money that typically would have gone to the state's general fund -- for their work on Quackenbush's behalf.

None of the men was ever charged with a crime, but a scathing report put out in August 2000 by the Assembly Insurance Committee left little doubt about the propriety of the strategy or the roles played by the consultants now working for Schwarzenegger.

"The (Department of Insurance), working with a group of longtime associates and consultants, then used the foundations to serve (Quackenbush's) political agenda and financially benefit personal friends of top department officials," the report said.

"In pursuit of these objectives, the needs of California consumers and representations made in agreements with insurers largely were ignored."

Former Assemblyman Fred Keeley, a Boulder Creek Democrat who was a key member of the investigating committee, said he was surprised to learn Schwarzenegger hired people so closely enmeshed in the Quackenbush scandal.

"The folks who advised Mr. Quackenbush to enter into a scheme that ultimately led to his resignation as a constitutional officer would not be the people that I would want to surround myself with if I was seeking a state constitutional office," said Keeley. "That would be especially true if I was trying to make the case I was going to be a new broom to sweep the capital clean."

Wilson, Sipple and Randle could not be reached for comment. Shumate said he has been talking with the campaign about coming to work as a consultant but that no agreement has been reached.

"They may hire me, but nothing's been resolved," he said.

All four had helped former Gov. Pete Wilson, Schwarzenegger's campaign co-chairman, with his political efforts. Shumate, Marty Wilson and Randle each served as a deputy chief of staff in the Pete Wilson administration.

Walsh said Sipple is working as a campaign advertising consultant, Wilson is helping run internal campaign operations and Randle will be working with various constituencies that support Schwarzenegger.

"They're quite good at designing campaigns and campaign strategies," said Keeley, who now heads the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide environmental group. "The problem with Quackenbush was not that they designed a strategy but that they designed a strategy that was wholly unethical."

Campaign spokesman Walsh said the consultants who worked for Quackenbush are not setting policy but only trying to get the candidate elected. Although he has not spelled out how he intends to do it, Schwarzenegger remains committed to reforming state government, Walsh said.

"When you bring in Warren Buffett, we're going to clean economic house in Sacramento," Walsh said. "The people in that town have never seen the type of force and personality these folks bring to bear. When the people we're bringing into the campaign come on board, you're going to see things jumping and you're going to see things changing."

But Rosenfield, the consumer activist whose group passed an initiative overhauling the Department of Insurance and making the commissioner's post an elected one, isn't buying it.

"Right now the entire state is up in arms looking for a cartoon hero to catapult into Sacramento and knock everyone's head together and clean the place up," he said.

"If Arnold becomes just another candidate surrounded by the Republican establishment just as Davis and (Lt. Gov. Cruz) Bustamante are by the Democratic establishment, people are going to say, 'My God, we had a recall and we've got the same old thing.' "

About the Writer
---------------------------

The Bee's Gary Delsohn can be reached at (916) 326-5545 or gdelsohn@sacbee.com.

Ma Shriver backs Schwarzenegger

By Inside Track

Friday, September 12, 2003

EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER has thrown her weight - what little she has - behind son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid for California governor. In her first public campaign appearance, the lifelong Democrat and sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, told reporters in San Jose, ``I think he'd be a very good governor. He's been committed to people all his life. Since the day he first arrived here, he's been a success with people.'' She added, ``I think he'd be a very good governor because he is interested in all (kinds of) subjects, particularly subjects that pertain to children.''

http://www.nysut.org/ra2003/news/thursday_shriver.html

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, whose name is synonymous with the Special Olympics, received NYSUT's most prestigious award at the opening session of the RA: the Albert Shanker Award for Distinguished Service.

NYSUT President Tom Hobart said Shriver's leadership forged "incredible opportunities" for mentally retarded children, noting that the Special Olympics, which NYSUT proudly sponsors, involves one million athletes in 150 countries.

Shriver, who was enthusiastically hailed by delegates and guests, said the award was particularly meaningful for her because "Al Shanker always fought for teachers and children." She added: "You, all of you, have inspired us."

The Kennedy Foundation is working to alleviate the chronic shortage of special education teachers - a shortage she called "at least as critical as the shortage of teachers of math and science." An estimated 40 percent of special ed teachers leave the field within five years. She called for incentives, such as forgiving education loans for teachers who work in special ed for at least two years.

She asked delegates to commit themselves to a "call for freedom" for mentally retarded children, "a call for hope and a call for love."

Veterans of scandal join team

Ex-Quackenbush consultants are hired by Schwarzenegger.

By Gary Delsohn -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, August 14, 2003

Maria Shriver: 'This Is a Painful and Heartbreaking Time'

By Gary Delsohn -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, August 14, 2003