Mayor of Schwarzenegger's hometown begs him not to break ties

AP Wire ^ | 12.20.2005 | WILLIAM J. KOLE

[Hadean]

VIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to end ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance. Siegfried Nagl, mayor of the southern city of Graz, said he dashed off a letter to Schwarzenegger pleading with him not to return a ring of honor bestowed on him by officials in his birthplace in 1999 and reassuring him that most residents still admire him. "I hope that very soon we'll hear you say, 'I'll be back,'" Nagl told the actor-turned-politician, one of Austria's most famous sons. On Monday, Schwarzenegger caused a stir by turning the tables on Austrians who criticized the governor's refusal to block the execution last week of convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams. He sent Graz officials a letter asking them to remove his name from a soccer stadium and stop using it to promote the city, and said he was giving back the ring because it "has lost its meaning and value to me." His demands effectively pre-empted a drive launched by opponents in Austria who already were gathering signatures on a petition calling for the 15,300-seat arena to be renamed. The petition drive began last week amid a furor triggered by last week's execution of Williams. Capital punishment is illegal in Europe, where many people consider it barbaric. They are now waiting to see how Schwarzenegger deals with the scheduled Jan. 17 execution of a 75-year-old inmate. "Graz will not have problems in the future with my decisions as governor of California, because officially nothing connects us any more," Schwarzenegger told the daily Kronen Zeitung in an interview for Tuesday's editions. "The death penalty is law here, and I have to uphold the law of the land and the will of the people," Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying, adding that he still considered himself "Austrian with all my heart." Nagl, the mayor of Graz, about 120 miles south of Vienna, accused the Social Democrats, pacifist Greens and others who criticized Schwarzenegger of orchestrating an "embarrassing farce." Most locals, he said, remain proud of Schwarzenegger. "I will try to explain to him that the majority of Grazers stand behind him," Nagl told Austrian television, describing the letter he was writing to Schwarzenegger. At a minimum, he said, he hoped to persuade Schwarzenegger to keep the ring - though he conceded he didn't think the governor would change his mind. "Those who know him realize he sticks to his opinions," he said. "The chances are not good. I regret this deeply, but I understand." Schwarzenegger was born in 1947 in the village of Thal just outside Graz, where he began his bodybuilding career. He emigrated to the United States in 1968 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984, but has retained his Austrian citizenship. Kurt Flecker, a local official with the opposition Social Democrats, said Schwarzenegger damaged his own image - not Graz's - by refusing to spare Williams' life. There is no point, he said, in "glorifying anyone who supports the death penalty." Walter Ferk, the deputy mayor of Graz, said Schwarzenegger's decision to allow executions to go forward makes him "an unsuitable godfather for a public building." But Hermann Schuetzenhoefer, a tourism adviser in the province of Styria where Graz is located, said Tuesday he also wrote a letter to Schwarzenegger expressing regret "that some politicians who proudly bore your name a few years ago are dragging it through the dirt now." "We continue to stand behind you, and I hope to see you soon back in the homeland," he wrote.

[paudio]

Nagl, the mayor of Graz, about 120 miles south of Vienna, accused the Social Democrats, pacifist Greens and others who criticized Schwarzenegger of orchestrating an "embarrassing farce." Most locals, he said, remain proud of Schwarzenegger

Now, it seems the mayor himself doesn't have problem with Ah-nuld decision. I don't know his political affiliation, but if he turns out to be a bit conservative, isn't it like W has to bear the consequences of his Dems critics on something he doesn't share?

[Lancey Howard]

It's too late - - Schwarzenegger said in his letter that the ring "is already in the mail".

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Arnold simply knows the mindset of social democrats and greenies.

He knows that you don't give them an inch. They leave a path of economic and social destruction where ever they go.

Look at what Schroeder and his social democrat buddies did to Germany.

[cubreporter]

:)

[MarkeyD]

You are right. There were threats to name the arena after Tookie, they should go ahead. I'm sure that will draw the tourists in.

[GodfearingTexan]

absolutely. tookie williams deserved to die and he did.

[Murtyo]

Mayor: Siegfried Nagl (OVP) - Austrian People's Party or OeVP (seems to be the main center right party of Austria)

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks. I sure agree.

[fooman]

baby

[BunnySlippers]

Thank you!

[Daaave]

"The death penalty is law here, and I have to uphold the law of the land and the will of the people."

[Main Street]

Europe hates the Death Penalty.

Yet for some reason they seem to love and glorify those Islamic terrorists, and gangsta thug murderers who impose their own death sentences on innocent American civilians.

[Bon mots]

Auf Wiedersehen Arschlohe!

[dbehsman]

Issue 2: (Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying, adding that he still considered himself "Austrian with all my heart.")
This is the main reason the Founding Fathers wrote in the Constitution that a person needs to be born in the US to become President. I am an American but born in Lebanon. Even though I am willing to die for the US, I should not be able to become President because I have a huge soft spot for Lebanon.


Amen buddy! It bears repeating. I know that it can be in some circumstances a little unfair, but I can't imagine any other way. Ultimately it would be just too risky.

[Left2Right]

"Good for Arnold."

If his hometown is really serious about making amends, they could start by naming the stadium after the victims.

[radiohead]

they could start by naming the stadium after the victims.

I thought about this myself. These leftists never consider the true victims of crime, only the 'victim of society' that they have created. Screw 'em, and good on Arnie for giving back the ring.

Graz must be an interesting place, full of leftists and neo-Nazis, I guess. My sister attended a summer opera program there a few years back. The program directors warned her not to go out at night alone as, being black, she might be attacked by neo-Nazis. No capital punishment, but it's ok to beat up on people who don't look like you.

[Left2Right]

"Graz must be an interesting place, full of leftists and neo-Nazis, I guess. My sister attended a summer opera program there a few years back. The program directors warned her not to go out at night alone as, being black, she might be attacked by neo-Nazis. No capital punishment, but it's ok to beat up on people who don't look like you."

And yet they call us racists. Talk about irony.

[ops33]

I may be starting a useless argument but the Constitution does not say that the President must be born in the US. It states he must be a natural born citizen. Now we can argue about what the phrase natural born means. I take it to mean a person who is an American citizen at birth, not necessarily a person who is born in the US. For instance, both of my children were born when I was stationed overseas on active duty. They both have birth certificates issued by the State Department that are titled "Record of the Birth of US Citizen Born Abroad." I personally believe that this fits the constitutional requirement of being a natural born citizen. However, I do not know if this question has ever been decided in any court.

[dbehsman]

I don't have time right now to look it up, but I think that if your children were born on a U.S. military base, it would be considered just the same as if they were born in the United States. If I recall correctly, I think that Newt Gingrich was born on a base in Germany, and he could run for the presidency. The only modern argument that I remember hearing was the case of Barry Goldwater. Someone theorized that Barry might not be eligible to run for the presidency. The reason being was that Goldwater was born in Arizona before it became a state of the United States. It was a U.S. territory. I don't think that Goldwater would have been denied office if he had won the election of 1964. If someone would have brought it to court, I think it would have been thrown out.