Terminator on top
In what could be described as part American dream and part Hollywood swank, Austrian immigrant and action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger will take on the role of governor of California. Anayat Durrani reports
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California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, centre, at a press conference in Santa Monica, California
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Following a historical and widely publicised election on 7 October, Democratic Governor Gray Davis was recalled by California voters -- less than a year into his second term. Fifty-five per cent of voters supported the recall, making Davis the first California governor -- and only the second governor in United States history -- to ever be recalled. More than 3.5 million voters, or 48 per cent, chose Schwarzenegger from among the 135 candidates vying to replace Davis. Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger will be sworn in and assume office by 25 November to serve out the remaining three years of Davis's term.
Speaking at a news conference after his victory, the $30 million-per-movie action star said his movie career will be put on hold while he serves as governor. "The people of California want me to be the governor, and I will do that and nothing else," Schwarzenegger said. "I will work as much as I can, even if it is around the clock."
"There will be no time for movies or anything else. I will pay full attention to this job. I take this job very seriously."
From the moment Schwarzenegger announced his bid to be governor on 6 August, media from around the world descended on California to cover the recall race.
The campaign's final days saw Schwarzenegger faced with numerous allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women stemming from as far back as 1975 and as recently as 2000. The allegations were made by 16 women who claimed that Schwarzenegger had groped them or offended them with crude sexual comments. There were also claims that as a young man Schwarzenegger spoke admiringly of Adolf Hitler. More than 1,000 readers of the Los Angeles Times cancelled their subscriptions over the newspaper's reports on the groping incidents. Schwarzenegger called some of the claims untrue but admitted he had "behaved badly" towards women in the past.
Despite the negative publicity, Schwarzenegger was able to declare victory and succeed in becoming the newly elected governor of the Golden State. Analysts credit his charisma, confidence, and appeal as having been able to sway California voters to dump Davis in favour of the actor-turned-politician. Schwarzenegger's performance at his first and only debate in Sacramento was also cited as a major turning point that may have led to his triumph in the recall race.
Many credit Schwarzenegger's wife Maria Shriver as being a powerful ally in his campaign for governor. Shriver, who works as an NBC news correspondent, is a Democrat and niece of the late President John Kennedy.
After his win, Schwarzenegger thanked his wife, saying, "I couldn't have done it without Maria." They were joined on the victory stage by Shriver's mother and father, Eunice and Sergeant Shriver, her brothers and other relatives.
One of the many people who called to congratulate the governor-elect was President Bush. "The president said to the governor-elect that he was proud of the race he ran, and that he looked forward to working with him," said White House Spokesman Scott McClellan.
As Schwarzenegger assumes office he will lead the nation's most-populous state that has the fifth largest economy in the world. The governor-elect has a tough road ahead of him that includes making good on promises he made to California voters during his campaign. Schwarzenegger vowed to repeal the recent 300 per cent increase in California's car tax, while also pledging not to raise taxes or cut education spending. Schwarzenegger will also have to deal with a burgeoning $38 billion budget deficit, which he claims he can remedy by cutting wasteful government spending.
As the incoming governor, Schwarzenegger has promised to serve all of the people of California. He also pledged to have an administration that unites both sides of the political spectrum. Just two days after winning the election, Schwarzenegger unveiled his 68-person transition team, which as promised, brings together an assortment of Democrats and Republicans. "As I said in my campaign all along, I want to reach out. I want to be the people's governor," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference.
"You will see a very diversified team of people on that list. You will see people that are to the left, people that are to the right and people that are to the center."
The transition team includes former Republican governor, Pete Wilson; the former GOP mayor of Los Angeles, Richard Riordan; former Republican Secretary of State George Shultz; and Republican businessman Bill Simon who dropped out of the recall race. It also includes Los Angeles Democratic mayor James Hahn, San Francisco Democratic mayor Willie Brown, and Susan Estrich, a law professor who ran Democrat Michael Dukakis' unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1988. Other appointees include Hollywood director Ivan Reitman, who worked with Schwarzenegger on the movie Twins and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. When attacked during his campaign for expressing admiration for Hitler, Schwarzenegger cited his major fund raising efforts on behalf of the centre. Also appointed to the transition team is Donna Arduin, Florida Governor Jeb Bush's top budget adviser. Arduin will serve as finance director and begin an audit to establish the exact size of California's deficit.
Though Schwarzenegger's film career has been put on hold while he assumes the role of governor, his life story is currently in the making for a cable network A&E movie. The movie will document the rise of Arnold Schwarzenegger from farm boy in Austria to the world's greatest bodybuilder, to Hollywood's biggest action star, and finally to governor of California. Titled See Arnold Run, the two-hour movie is set to premiere at the same time as US presidential conventions in 2004.
