Free Republic

In winning his landslide re-election victory, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also found most other campaigns going his way. Only the narrow defeat of his appointed secretary of state, Bruce McPherson, could be counted as an actual setback, and not a major one at that. First, of course, was the passage of all the Big Bang Bonds infrastructure initiatives that he supported. Schwarzenegger lays claim to the enactment of California?s biggest public works program since the Pat Brown era of the 1960s The defeat of all the tax measures on the ballot was right in line with the Arnold playbook, as was...

Angelides tells his supporters to ignore polls Insisting he was "undaunted and unbowed" two days before an election he is widely expected to lose, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides dashed from one end of the state to the other on Sunday, hoping to spark the surge of momentum that has eluded him throughout his campaign. "I want you to ignore what the polls say," Angelides told about 100 union workers at a labor hall in Burlingame Sunday afternoon. "Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks he's got this thing locked away." Afterward, he added, "I think you're going to see a big surprise." Schwarzenegger...

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic rival Phil Angelides began their final push before Election Day with campaign swings throughout the state, rallying supporters and encouraging volunteers on last-minute get-out-the-vote drives. Angelides, who is trailing in the polls and has found it difficult to break free of Schwarzenegger's shadow, got his own celebrity welcome Saturday from hundreds of union members who were preparing to walk precincts. The state treasurer urged supporters not to get discouraged despite two recent public opinion polls that show him trailing the Republican incumbent by 16 and 18 percentage points. He predicted that a...

SACRAMENTO — If the polls are correct, Gov. Schwarzenegger is on his way to a big win Tuesday. But is he popular enough to pull other Republicans across the finish line? In what is being billed nationally as the year of the Democrat, California might buck the trend. At least that's the hope of Republican strategists, who for weeks have talked about a so-called coattail effect: the theory that a big win for the popular Republican governor could mean good things for the GOP in other statewide races. Republican analyst Dan Schnur has even compiled a "coattail index." It says...

SACRAMENTO - When he ran for governor during the 2003 recall election, Arnold Schwarzenegger described the Capitol as a place where "special interests have a stranglehold. The money comes in, favors go out, the people lose." Even as the governor says he is not returning favors for cash, the money has been flooding in since he rose from Hollywood celebrity to chief executive of the nation's most populous state. An exhaustive review of campaign finance records by The Associated Press reveals that Schwarzenegger is on pace to become the most prolific fundraiser in California history. He has raised $113.4 million...

A dozen television and still cameras greeted actor Robert Redford when he went to a hilltop last week to declare his support for Proposition 87, the oil tax initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot. Even more cameras were in Malibu last weekend when Pierce Brosnan, Daryl Hannah, Halle Berry and other movie stars joined surfers in protesting a proposed offshore liquefied natural gas terminal. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a celebrity in his own right, is raking in campaign cash from the likes of movie director James Cameron, former co-star Danny DeVito and fellow action hero Sylvester Stallone. Hollywood, long a leading...

Despite conservative views, McClintock in dead heat with Democratic opponent Garamendi SACRAMENTO - Californians could be on the cusp of electing the state's most conservative lieutenant governor in nearly 30 years -- a candidate who is firmly to the right of most of the state on issues such as abortion, the environment and government spending. State Sen. Tom McClintock, arguably the most popular conservative in the state, is running neck and neck in his race with Democrat John Garamendi, the term-limited state insurance commissioner. Although considered by many to be a powerless post, the lieutenant governor does become the state's...

Phil Angelides may have won the Democratic primary for governor last April when he ignited the state party convention with a fiery speech slamming Democrats who tried to work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that same speech could end up costing the state treasurer the gubernatorial election on Nov. 7. California voters, tired of what they see as years of partisan gridlock in Sacramento, are responding to Schwarzenegger's effort to put a new, bipartisan face on his administration and work closely with the Democratic leadership in the Legislature to get things done. "I'm extremely happy about Democrats and Republicans working...

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appears headed for re-election by a landslide -- even though California voters strongly believe Democrats are better suited to handle key issues like the economy, the Iraq war, immigration and the environment, a new poll shows. The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that Schwarzenegger has an 18-point lead over Democrat state Treasurer Phil Angelides, and has gained so much momentum that even in the Bay Area -- the state's Democratic bastion -- he holds a 6-point lead. Mark Baldassare, pollster for the Public Policy Institute of California, calls it "just amazing ......

The latest public poll, just out tonight, is chock full of issues and items to consider. The headline from the Public Policy Institute of California poll only reinforces the conventional wisdom about the gubernatorial contest: Arnold Schwarzenegger is handily beating Phil Angelides... in this poll, by a commanding 48% to 30%. But there's oh so much more... Grumpy Dems More evidence that Democrats aren't so happy about their nominee for governor, nor the issues he's discussing. The poll shows just 57% of Dems would vote for Angelides as of now, with 21% casting their vote for Schwarzenegger. A full 50%...

7 Angelides supports equal marriage rights for all Californians; Schwarzenegger vetoed them 6 Angelides supports affordable universal health care; Schwarzenegger opposes it 3 Angelides fights for a woman’s right to choose and opposes Prop 85; 2 Angelides opposes Bush’s war in Iraq; Schwarzenegger supports it 1 Angelides supports Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House;

Assuming Arnold maintains his leads in the polls and pulls off a double-digit win, he'll almost certain bring Steve Poizner and Bruce McPherson into office with him. Chuck Poochigian's a good man, but that's a longer shot against Jerry Brown, and Claude Parrish is an even longer shot than that. But somewhere in the middle are the McClintock and Strickland campaigns, both of whom could end up riding Schwarzenegger coattails to victory as well. There are too many variables at this point to predict a likely margin of victory for Schwarzenegger, so instead allow me to submit the Schwarzenegger Coattail...

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003, California Republican political power was at its nadir. But three years later Republicans are beginning to look at whether Schwarzenegger can help carry some Republican down-ticket candidates across the finish line in November. The question is how two very different trends, one national and one unique to California, will play out on Election Day. Democrats seem poised to make big gains nationally. But in California, Democrats find themselves trailing badly in the governor's race, potentially slipping in legislative races, and losing their grasp on two or three additional statewide offices. Angelides spokesman...

When Leno read in Saturday's Chronicle that Mary Canavan, a lifelong Democrat, was "almost certain" to vote for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he found her number in directory assistance and called her at home, giving her a 15-minute pitch for Angelides. It wasn't only Leno who took the Berkeley woman to task about her planned vote for the governor, she said. "I got a lot of e-mails from friends, some saying 'I agree' and others saying 'Have you thought about this?' '' Canavan said at the rally. She admitted she was disappointed with the showing of the Democratic Party and...

Struggling to attract support, Democrat Phil Angelides has begun tearing into Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal character, suggesting Wednesday the Republican incumbent should respond to recall-era claims that he once groped and humiliated women. Angelides, in a phone interview, said Schwarzenegger never fulfilled a promise he made during his 2003 recall campaign to review the groping allegations. "It was the governor who told (former NBC anchor) Tom Brokaw on national news that he would fully look into this matter and tell the people what it was all about," Angelides said. "He was the one who made his commitment and didn't keep...

GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "something very special happened" in his third year in office. "We found the groove," he proclaimed during an interview with our editorial board last week. And Sacramento has been grooving with him. The just-completed legislative session represented one of the most productive in recent memory. The Republican governor and Democratic legislators worked together on essential long-term goals (upgrade our transportation systems and schools, help stop global warming) and short-term imperatives (raise the minimum wage, reform foster care, secure drug discounts for the uninsured) that will have an impact on Californians' lives. (snip) We have disagreed with...

Democrat Phil Angelides is one vote closer to being governor of California, thanks to San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno and a wavering Berkeley real estate agent. When Leno read in Saturday's Chronicle that Mary Canavan, a lifelong Democrat, was "almost certain" to vote for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he found her number in directory assistance and called her at home, giving her a 15-minute pitch for Angelides. Leno took his one-on-one political campaign to Canavan because "I'm just so frustrated that there could be a question in the mind of any Democrat about who to vote for in November,'' the...

The Schwarzenegger campaign circulated a letter today from Joe Weider, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's longtime patron and friend (see photo), who recently appeared with the governor at a bodybuilding contest at Muscle Beach in Venice. The campaign is rounding up support for the governor after state Treasuter Phil Angelides said he once defended the apartheid regime in South Africa. Weider wrote today: "In 1975, during the height of apartheid in South Africa, the country wanted to host the Mr. Olympia competition and the world amateur bodybuilding competition. Participants from 60 countries were set to compete. "Arnold Schwarzenegger was so opposed to...

Democrat Phil Angelides blamed his struggling campaign for governor on a "record amount of negative ads" put out by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in an interview Monday with The Chronicle editorial board. Angelides, who trails in most polls by double digits, said Schwarzenegger and his supporters have spent more than $60 million since June to misinform California voters about his record and policies. "You have the largest amount of special interest money pouring into Arnold Schwarzenegger's accounts -- all to tear me down," said Angelides, a two-term state treasurer. "We are the underdog in this race." With just three weeks...

SACRAMENTO - Experts are pointing stakeholders worried about California's governor race to differences between campaigning and elected office -- a contrast immortalized in "The Candidate," as the victor asked: "What do we do now?" If elected, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides says his California would be kinder to working families, more generous to students and more welcoming to immigrants -- all while keeping books in the black. But political analysts said in interviews that his vision is fiscally unrealistic. Whittier College political science professor Richard Harvey said Angelides "has been in and around politics long enough so that he can...

His priorities for the next term, Schwarzenegger says, include reforming the state's dysfunctional prisons and another try at fixing California's jury-rigged redistricting system. His previous attempts to address both problems failed miserably. Paradoxically, however, he may be in a better position to address these issues — and others, such as the state's structural budget deficit — because he is a Republican. A little partisanship can be healthy in Sacramento, if it serves as a check on the excesses of the legislative or executive branch. And Schwarzenegger and the Democrats in the Legislature now better understand how they give each other...

Polls Show Democrats Not Connecting With Angelides. Former Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Willie Brown on Friday predicted that fellow Democrat Phil Angelides will lose his campaign for governor. Brown's forecast came during a fundraising breakfast for his public policy institute, which drew many of the state's top elected officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a nod to the Republican governor, who was seated in the audience, Brown told several hundred well-connected listeners that Schwarzenegger will win his bid for a full term next month. "No matter what, I think he'll be re-elected governor," Brown said. Angelides campaign spokesman...

Across the country, Republicans are taking a beating: President Bush is at historic lows in public opinion polls, the war in Iraq has lost favor with voters, and the party is dealing with the latest in a series of ethics scandals that have Republicans staring at the prospects of losing control of Congress. Yet, oddly enough, in California it may be Democrats who have the most reason to fear Election Day. Not only does their gubernatorial candidate, Phil Angelides, trail Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger heavily in the polls, but there is growing concern that if Angelides does not inspire Democrats to...

Arnold Schwarzenegger entered office on a bold mission to overhaul California government, and voters expected nothing less of an actor who obliterated everything in his path onscreen. Schwarzenegger promised to "blow up the boxes" and "clean house." He described the job of governor as being "the leader of the legislators. You go in there and you tell them what you want to do." He made Sacramento the problem -- and himself the antidote. Three years later, Schwarzenegger's ambitious plans and in-your-face attitude have largely succumbed to the Capitol's political culture. "Sacramento really hasn't changed," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of...

Did Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Democrats' rising political star, sell out Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides? Literally? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's little-noticed appointment of Villaraigosa's sister to a $149,160-a-year judgeship on the Los Angeles County Superior Court has some Democratic Party loyalists accusing the mayor of a familial financial gain in what they say is his failure to aggressively support Angelides. Mary Lou Villar, 52, the mayor's younger sister, who goes by Villaraigosa's original name, was appointed to the judgeship in April. Villar, a Democrat who resides in Alhambra, is a former legal-aid attorney who had worked for the past 15...

Sacramento -- Mary Canavan, a 62-year-old real estate agent from Berkeley, stands as one of the biggest barriers to Democrat Phil Angelides becoming governor. After weeks of putting off a decision, the lifelong Democrat said she is almost certain to cast her vote for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- a choice lots of Democrats up and down the state are considering, including many living in the liberal strongholds of the Bay Area. "It depresses me to say it, but I've got no compelling reason to vote for Angelides," she said. "I've never supported anyone but Democrats -- I think I...

LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger distanced himself from President George W. Bush on national television yesterday, saying he was as far from his fellow Republican as he was from winning an Academy Award during his film career. "To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar," the former bodybuilder and Hollywood action star joked during an appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "That's ridiculous." It was Schwarzenegger's fifth guest spot on the late-night comedy show since he used a 2003 appearance on the program to announce his first campaign for public...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sat down with The Chronicle's editorial board this week. Frankly, some of us weren't expecting much. Schwarzenegger is only occasionally available, and when one of his people told us he would be 25 minutes late, we thought that would be a good excuse to cut into his scheduled time. "Oh no,'' one of his people said, "he's going to give you a full hour.'' And he did. Some of what he said was political boilerplate. There was some ducking and dodging and a little filibustering to elude tough questions. (He didn't want to answer one about gay...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoted bipartisan dealmaking Friday at a breakfast hosted by Democratic political icon Willie Brown, who then gave his Republican guest a parting gift: a declaration that Schwarzenegger will win re-election "no matter what." Democratic gubernatorial challenger Phil Angelides was noticeably absent from the Moscone Center fundraiser for Brown's nonprofit public service institute, considering the audience of several hundred was heavily Democratic. Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, landed a prime speaking spot between two of the state's most powerful Democrats, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Angelides trails Schwarzenegger by double-digit percentage points, according to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chuckled at a comment from Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez last month in Sacramento as he signed Núñez's measure to create a discount prescription drug program. SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez is a key figure in a major gubernatorial campaign. But it might be hard to tell which one. Núñez, co-chairman of Democrat Phil Angelides' struggling campaign, has been spending far more time at public events heaping praise on Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger than with the candidate he has endorsed. In a variety of joint appearances, Núñez has lauded Schwarzenegger's “courage” and “leadership” in signing bills to...

And in fact some Democrats are now worrying openly about the Angelides campaign, which is behind in all the polls. Senator Barbara Boxer was concerned when she was at the CBS 5 studios on Thursday. "Well so far Phil hasn't caught on and we'll never give up. He didn't do well in the primary until the last minute either," said Senator Boxer. "He's a wonderful human being, and the irony is it's just not coming across. Its not coming across in the debate, its not coming across in the tv ads and I feel like telling people 'Please know this...

Angelides drew attention when he called on the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the State Teachers' Retirement System to involve 2 percent of their portfolios in the state's "emerging markets" -- neglected, low-income neighborhoods. But conservatives charge he pushed controversial financial policies and effectively overrode the state constitution by politicizing a ministerial post to promote market and societal changes. "He is putting the public employees' money at risk to pursue a political agenda and to help him get into the governor's mansion," protested Adrian Moore, vice president of the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles libertarian think tank. As a...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Wednesday to pursue some of the "good ideas" rejected by voters in last year's special election but promised that he will not revive controversial efforts to control union dues or change the state's voter-approved education funding formula. In a wide-ranging interview with The Chronicle's editorial board Wednesday, Schwarzenegger also said he did not regret stumping for President Bush in 2004, and he denied assertions that he has been inconsistent as governor and veered from a conservative agenda in 2005 to a Democratic one this year. When asked how he would describe himself, he said he was...

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger traded quips with the host one moment and criticized U.S. foreign policy the next during an appearance Wednesday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that had the governor's opponents crying foul because his Democratic rival wasn't included. When asked by Leno about TV campaign ads attempting to link Schwarzenegger to President Bush, the star of the "Terminator" films mocked the notion. "To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar," said the governor, who has never won — or even been nominated for — acting's most prestigious award. On...

The Rev. Amos Brown, who heads Third Baptist Church -- an African American landmark in San Francisco -- lambasted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger two years ago as part of "the national axis of evil" and charged that President Bush was "his partner in crime." Now, Brown's position has changed dramatically: This week he lauded Schwarzenegger as a leader who has "brought back school counselors, arts, music and physical education to our schools." Brown's comments, which appeared in an official Schwarzenegger campaign press release, also praised the governor for addressing prison reform and small-business development. The shift, some political observers say, could...

Gov. Schwarzenegger today insisted that he has kept a 2003 campaign promise not to be beholden to special interests, saying he is above the pay-to-play politics of his predecessor. In an interview with the Chronicle editorial board this morning, Schwarzenegger said he has never pledged to shun money from special interest groups, but rather promised that donors could not buy favors from his office with donations. "I never said I would not accept money, that special interests are no good and would not be part of the mix," he said. "I said we have to stop the money from going...

Worried Democrats said Sunday that Phil Angelides failed to achieve the breakthrough he needed in the sole gubernatorial debate and expressed fear that his campaign's trajectory threatened others on the statewide ticket. Fellow Democrat John Garamendi, in a tight race for lieutenant governor against Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, has started to distance himself from Angelides. He said in a television interview aired Sunday that he disagreed with an Angelides plan to raise taxes on corporations and the well-to-do.[snip]On Sunday, the example cited repeatedly by Angelides' disappointed party brethren was the 1994 election, when then-Treasurer Kathleen Brown lost in a...

CA: Angelides vs Schwarzenegger debate NOW on CSPAN. LIVE THREAD

Mexican Americans should assimilate the way Asians did, he says. No stranger to sensitive ethnic remarks, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger drew criticism Thursday for saying Mexican Americans have acculturation problems "because they are so close to their country here" while collectively praising Asian Americans for "assimilating into the American way of living."Democratic lawmakers supporting gubernatorial challenger Phil Angelides charged that the Republican governor was once again engaging in "divisive" racial stereotyping in remarks similar to taped comments he made about Cuban and Puerto Rican women that were revealed last month.Schwarzenegger spoke Thursday in Los Angeles' Chinatown at a celebration of the...

LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that some Mexican immigrants "try to stay Mexican" when they come to the United States, and he urged them to assimilate into the fabric of American society. Recalling his own experience emigrating from his native Austria, the Republican governor said Thursdya that immigrants should learn English and U.S. history and "make an effort to become part of America." "That is very difficult for some people to do especially, I think, for Mexicans because they are so close to their country here so they try to stay Mexican but try to be in...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger outspent his Democratic rival, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, by more than 4-1 over the last three months, according to campaign reports filed late Thursday. But Angelides began October with a slight edge in campaign cash. Schwarzenegger, leading in the polls, spent $14.4 million in July, August and September and had $2.4 million left to begin the last five weeks of the race. Angelides, trailing by double-digit figures in two recent polls, spent $3.4 million during the same three-month period and had $2.8 million left over. He also had a slight edge in fundraising since the...

Click Here To Watch Debate (CBS 5 / The Chronicle) SAN FRANCISCO--The San Francisco Chronicle Editorial board hosted a 60-minute debate between attorney general candidates Jerry Brown and Chuck Poochigian on Thursday afternoon at the CBS 5 studios in San Francisco. This was the first debate between the two candidates, and is the only one currently scheduled. The debate is presented via streaming video here on CBS5.com and is the first of several Chronicle Editorial board candidate debates that will be offered via live and tape streams here on CBS5.com. Other upcoming debates will include: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2...

Candidates for governor will get together Saturday A year ago, after Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had just finished a televised "forum" answering softball questions about his package of ballot propositions for the 2005 special election, reporters asked his then-chief political strategist Mike Murphy when Schwarzenegger would agree to a debate on the issues. "If someone wants to debate the governor," Murphy snarled, "he's first got to win the Democratic nomination." Translation: No debates for Schwarzenegger until 2006. A year later, there is a Democratic nominee — Treasurer Phil Angelides — but the opportunity for robust debate is not much brighter....

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the bipartisan, $37 billion state-rebuild bond campaign Tuesday absent two of his biggest Democratic co-stars at most stops -- thanks in part to President Bush's visit to California. Those in the know said problems between the governor and Democrats Don Perata and Fabian Núñez surfaced right about the time Bush decided to campaign for two House Republicans in California, the same day as the bond kickoff. According to one Democratic operative close to the negotiations between the two sides, it soon became apparent to the Dems that the governor would be using his appearances with...

TWO years after lending star power to George W Bush's re-election campaign, Arnold Schwarzenegger has distanced himself from the US president ahead of upcoming polls, analysts say. The Hollywood actor turned Republican politician is a strong favourite to win November's race in Democrat dominated California, where Mr Bush's approval ratings have slumped to record lows. But as Mr Schwarzenegger enjoys a commanding lead over his Democrat rival Phil Angelides in recent polls, analysts say the incumbent is wary of being associated with Mr Bush. Mr Schwarzenegger did not meet Mr Bush during his trip of California today. A spokesman for...

Voters so far have not bought into Democratic efforts to connect Schwarzenegger with an unpopular president - SACRAMENTO - With Election Day just five weeks away, bad news keeps mounting for Phil Angelides: Not only is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate trailing Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by double digits, but one of his key campaign strategies -- trying to link Schwarzenegger to President Bush -- isn't working. Schwarzenegger leads Angelides, 46 percent to 33 percent among voters, according to a poll released Monday by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State. Perhaps more worrisome to Angelides, more than...

SAN FRANCISCO - Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides launched what could be a crucial campaign week Monday by renewing his call to bring California's National Guard troops home from Iraq. Joined in the Golden Gate Club at the Presidio of San Francisco by two Bay Area members of Congress and several veterans, the state treasurer said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has voiced only support for the war and for President Bush, and so hasn't acted in the state's best interests. "This is an issue that deeply affects California," he said. He noted that some of the $400 billion spent on what...

As Phil Angelides' chances of becoming California's next governor sink slowly in the west, the wonk talk is slowly turning to the possible effects of his electoral weakness on the down-ballot races. The speculation isn't so much about whether moderate Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger's coattails are long enough to drag an unlikely conservative such as Tom McClintock in as lieutenant governor . . . But the talk is less about the governor's strength than about Angelides' negative coattails: Is he so weak that many Democratic voters won't turn out at all? And if that happens, could Schwarzenegger's relative strength ironically weaken...

Sacramento developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos has contributed $2.5 million to the California Democratic Party to help fund its "issue advocacy" ads trying to link Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with the policies of President Bush. The contributions from Tsakopoulos and his company, AKT Development, came on top of the $8.7 million that he and his relatives and their firms gave to an independent expenditure committee in the spring. The committee ran TV ads on behalf of Treasurer Phil Angelides, who won the Democratic primary over Controller Steve Westly. Tsakopoulos is the mentor and one-time business partner of Angelides, who is a former...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Gelia Crayton is the picture of conservative California. She worships at the Crystal Cathedral, Orange County's gleaming megachurch. She opposes abortion and gay marriage. And she thinks illegal immigration is the scourge of the state. Crayton's views are at odds with the moderate stance Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has promoted as he seeks re-election. Yet on a recent Sunday after church services, the 58-year-old real estate agent pledged to stay loyal to the governor "until he says, 'Taxes are going to go up and welcome illegals.'" Crayton's pragmatism helps explain how Schwarzenegger has consolidated his party's...