Schwarzenegger Will Run in Recall Election
By Marisa Lagos, Times Staff Writer
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he will run for governor, after weeks of speculation that he would not enter the gubernatorial race.
Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, announced what he called a "difficult" decision this afternoon at the local NBC studio, during the taping of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
At a press conference after the taping, the actor said he made the decision last week after returning from Mexico City, the last stop on his promotional tour for "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." He said his wife, Maria Shriver, who had been reported to oppose his candidacy, supported his decision.
Schwarzenegger said he sees a variety of problems that he hopes to help fix, including the fact that businesses are leaving California, the state has a "record-breaking budget deficit" and an education system that he said is "last in the country."
He also pointed out that his personal fortune would allow him to run without fundraising.
"California is run by special interests … and we have to stop this," he said. "I will go to Sacramento and clean house."
As he left the press conference, he told reporters who were still peppering him with questions: "I'll be back."
On the Leno show, the studio audience whooped and cheered after he made the surprise announcement. In the course of his interview with Leno, the popular movie star and former bodybuilder invoked several of the lines that made him famous, including, "Say hasta la vista to Gray Davis," and "When I go to Sacramento, I'm going to pump it up."
"The people are doing their job in California, the politicians are not doing their job," Schwarzenegger said. "The person who has failed the people more than anyone is Gray Davis and that is why I'm going to run for governor."
Schwarzenegger also joked that his wife, whose mother is a Kennedy, would vote Republican for the first time this October.
Political pundit Arianna Huffington also announced today that she would enter the race as an independent.
"A friend just called and said, 'It's the Hummer versus the hybrid,' " Huffington said late today, just after hearing that Schwarzenegger had announced he would enter the race.
"But the question for Arnold, and for any Republican running, is whether he is going to take on the Bush administration and the policies that have so damaged the state," Huffington said.
She said the centerpiece of her campaign would be to "connect the dots," between the Bush administration and the current situation in California, notably the budget crisis and energy scandals.
"He will have to run as a Bush Republican, which he is," she said.
This morning, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein ruled out the possibility of running on the ballot, killing Democratic hopes that her popularity would boost their chances of a replacement candidate in the event that Gov. Gray Davis is recalled.
In a statement this morning, Feinstein, 70, said she was "flattered" by the numerous calls for her to run in the October election, but that she could serve the state best in her current position.
Schwarzenegger's decision also threw into question the candidacy of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who had indicated that he would not run against the actor. Riordan, a moderate Republican, always maintained that he would not run against Feinstein, also a longtime friend.
Feinstein this morning called the recall effort "misguided," and "frivolous" and criticized state Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican candidate who funded the recall effort with more than $1 million dollars of his own money.
"First and foremost, I deeply believe the recall is a terrible mistake and will bring to the depth and breadth of California instability and uncertainty, which will be detrimental to our economic recovery and decision-making," she said in the statement.
"This recall demonstrates that virtually anyone with $1.5 million can hire professional petition gatherers certain to produce enough signatures to force a recall of any state elected officials. This sets a terrible precedent which ought to cause us all to think very carefully."
Feinstein, who has been a prominent figure in California politics for more than three decades, has served as a senator since a special election in 1992, after she lost a gubernatorial race to Pete Wilson.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) said Tuesday she would consider running only if any other prominent Democrats did not.
Huffington's indecision fueled speculation for weeks. Her ex-husband, Michael, a former Republican congressman, took out papers to run, but has not announced his decision; Arianna Huffington maintained before today that she would not run against him because of their children.
The deadline to file is 5 p.m. Saturday.
Huffington's announcement today was one "I never thought I'd hear myself say," said the columnist and author who was born in Greece. She said that Californians should "vote their conscience," but if the recall was approved, should be used as an opportunity to "clean house."
"My decision is in no way founded on British intelligence," she joked in front of an audience of supporters. "I'm not a conventional candidate, but these are not conventional times If we keep electing the same candidates funded by the same special interests, we'll never get out of this mess."
Feinstein said this morning that most of the candidates who have come forward so far have "no background or knowledge of the state's enormous portfolio of issues."
"This is a time when our attention should be focused on working in a bipartisan manner to solve the state's fiscal crisis, to fix our public schools, to increase public safety, and to restore California's economy," she said. "Sadly, the state is instead going to be engaged in an election that is becoming more and more like a carnival every day."
She reserved her harshest criticism, though, for the recall's backers, who she said have launched a political battle that is sure to have "dark repercussions."
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks