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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...

A judge refused Thursday to halt the state's impending plan to begin shipping inmates to out-of-state prisons to relieve an overcrowding crisis in the California corrections agency. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette said he saw no evidence that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to ship out the prisoners to private facilities in four other states would result in any immediate, irreparable harm to the plaintiffs in the case, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the Service Employees International Union Local 1000. Marlette set a Nov. 22 court date to resolve the merits of the suit.

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...

Governor Schwarzenegger today announced that he has signed legislation that will benefit California veterans, military personnel and their families. "Our brave men and women in the military and our veterans are incredible and we owe them our deepest gratitude for taking extraordinary risks and making tremendous sacrifices in defense of freedom and democracy," said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This legislation will provide important benefits for California’s veterans and military personnel.” Specifically, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the following bills: Assembly Bill 2884 by Assemblymember Baca (D- Rialto) makes the California Military & Veterans Code consistent with federal law with respect to health care coverage...

The governor takes a commanding lead, with many Democrats and independents saying they support him. A key issue is leadership skill. Just over five weeks before election day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger holds a commanding lead over his Democratic challenger, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who has built scant support beyond a core base of liberals, according to a new Los Angeles Times Poll. If the Nov. 7 election were held today, likely voters would favor the Republican governor over Angelides 50% to 33%. The survey found an abundance of grim signs for Angelides, including a failure to match Schwarzenegger's success in...

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill on Friday that would have required retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to prepare reports for local officials on the effect of proposed superstores on existing retailers in the same market. A number of local California officials have sought to block the expansion of the world's largest retailer in the state and some lawmakers have sought to help with state legislation aimed at the company. California's celebrity Republican governor said he vetoed the bill because it "effectively sends a message to retailers and...

NWN has learned that the Phil Angelides for Governor campaign has sent a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger demanding that he release all those audio tapes on the Governor’s Office computer system by October 4th. Or else, they will. You’ll recall the infamous backfiring tape flap earlier in the month. Using a cyber trick that Democratic spinners couldn’t explain for an agonizing period of time, Angelides opposition researchers surreptitiously came up with a tape of a private Schwarzenegger discussion with top staffers in which he mused about ethnology. Which they then leaked to the Los Angeles Times, which promptly slapped...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a commanding 17-point lead over Democratic rival Phil Angelides with just six weeks to go until the November 7 election, according to a just released Public Policy Institute of California poll. Forty-eight percent of likely voters support the Republican governor, with just 31 percent saying they would vote for Angelides, who is currently the state treasurer.

As the candidate fights to clarify his message, donations fall short. Unions may decide to spend their campaign money elsewhere. With just over six weeks left in the race for governor, the troubles facing Democrat Phil Angelides have intensified, and his political allies are expressing rising concern over his campaign's failure to gain momentum. Hindering his drive to oust Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are Angelides' slow pace in raising money, his tepid support from organized labor and his difficulty defining himself clearly for voters, Democratic strategists say.

In his bid for re-election as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a comfortable lead over Democratic challenger and state Treasurer Phil Angelides among the state's "high propensity" voters, according to a report released on Tuesday. These voters also back two of four general obligation bond measures that lawmakers put on the November 7 ballot that seek billions of dollars in debt issuance for public works. The celebrity governor, a Republican, has the support of 53.6 percent of high-propensity voters, compared with 31.4 percent backing Angelides. Another 11.4 percent of these voters favor other candidates and 3.6 percent are undecided,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Wednesday that proposed an instant fix for students failing to meet California's standard for proficiency: redefine proficiency. Schwarzenegger concluded that changing a few words won't solve academic woes. "Redefining the level of academic achievement necessary to designate students as 'proficient' does not make the students proficient," his veto message said. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, called the governor's veto of her Assembly Bill 2975 a "missed opportunity" that ultimately will hurt students. "Schools will be labeled as failing schools even if they are making progress and improving their test scores," she said. AB 2975 argued that...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have barred textbooks from using language that would be discriminatory to gays, saying the state's education laws already prevent discrimination. The bill's author, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, called the veto "inexplicable." Kuehl's bill initially would have required California's social science textbooks to include the historical contributions of homosexuals, but the state Assembly amended it at her request in an effort to avoid a veto from the Republican governor. The final version of SB 1437 would have prohibited any negative portrayal of homosexuals in textbooks and other instructional material, expanding current...

Schwarzenegger Squashes Religious Freedom Thomasson: “Arnold Schwarzenegger has two faces. He speaks at churches and says he believes in religious freedom and family values, yet he’s stabbing pro-family Californians in the back.” Sacramento, California – Campaign for Children and Families is shocked and dismayed that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 1441 (Kuehl). Today’s disastrous action by Schwarzenegger means Christian and other faith-based colleges in California will be forced to promote transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality if they accept students with Cal Grants. “People of conscience are appalled that Arnold Schwarzenegger has trampled religious freedom to satisfy hyperactive sexual activists,”...

SAN FRANCISCO - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides said Friday that if he unseats Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November he would sign a bill legalizing gay marriage in California. Angelides talked about the issue the day after New York's high court upheld that state's one-man, one-woman marriage laws and as a California appeals court prepared to consider whether a trial judge erred in declaring the state's marriage laws unconstitutional. "I would sign the marriage equality bill because I believe if we can get behind people to build a lasting relationship, that is a good thing," Angelides said at a news...

Incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger is the top contender in California’s gubernatorial race, according to the latest poll by Zogby Interactive. 49 per cent of respondents in the Golden State would vote for Schwarzenegger, while 41 per cent would support Democrat Phil Angelides.

The spending plan is the first completed on time in six years. Criticism of his trimming was muted as Democrats got most of what they had sought. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state's first on-time budget in six years Friday, after using his veto power to scale back the expansion of environmental enforcement and healthcare programs approved by the Legislature earlier this week. The $131-billion spending plan signed by the governor will use a surge of unanticipated revenue that filled California's coffers this year to pay back billions the state borrowed from schools in recent years as well as to...

Governor Schwarzenegger is in San Diego Thursday, encouraging people to vote for Jessica's Law, which would strengthen punishments for sexual predators. If passed, Jessica's Law would be the toughest sex-predator law in the country.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides said Thursday he would consider using tax breaks to stop Hollywood jobs from fleeing California, even at a time when he has warned of looming budget problems and what he calls unjustified corporate tax loopholes. Angelides, the state treasurer, also accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of doing "zero, zip" to slow the exodus of entertainment jobs to other states and around the globe. The Republican governor, a former film star, "talks, he's a showman," Angelides said in an interview with The Associated Press. "This is an area where you would think that this governor, in his...

One of the most promising developments early on in the Schwarzenegger administration was the new governor's willingness to tackle the issue of prison reform – especially in the wake of Gov. Gray Davis' administration, which acted like a wholly owned subsidiary of the ham-fisted state prison guards union. The prison guards, which pumped enormous contributions into Gov. Davis' campaign, received oversized pay hikes and were given undue power over the correctional system, where a code of silence among guards made it impossible to root out abuse and corruption. Under Gov. Schwarzenegger, the state proposed wide-ranging and sensible reforms. But as...

Build highways, freeways and mass transit, he said, "so you don't get stuck in traffic all the time." Expand universities, build new classrooms and modernize old ones "so that our kids have the best place to go." Strengthen the state's levee system "to protect the people of California from a major disaster." But in his stem-winder on the banks of the Sacramento River, the governor mentioned nothing about the housing bond, a key component that helped him win votes from Democratic legislators for the bond package he has touted as a bipartisan triumph. Housing bond supporters such as Assembly Speaker...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied the federal government's request to place 1,500 additional national guard troops on the Mexico border according to a breaking news alert just issued on ABC Channel 7 news in Los Angeles.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to headline a fundraiser for gay Republicans in Hollywood next week in what would be his first appearance in front of a gay audience since he took office, according to the event's organizers. The June 29 fundraiser for Log Cabin Republicans comes as Schwarzenegger considers whether to veto a bill that would require chapters from gay history to be added to public school text books in California. The governor already has indicated he opposes the measure. The governor's stock has been down with gay rights groups since he vetoed a gay marriage bill in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wasted no time getting the general election campaign under way, releasing a television ad on Friday that says Democratic nominee Phil Angelides wants to "take California backwards" by raising $10 billion in taxes. Schwarzenegger strategist Steve Schmidt said his campaign agrees with Angelides "absolutely 110 percent" that the race will offer voters a clear choice on the issues. "One of the issues is taxes," he said. "I'm not sure who will spend more time talking about his tax increases, Phil Angelides or us." On Friday, Angelides once again defended his proposals, saying he would only raise taxes...

Phil Angelides -- the former Democratic party chair and twice elected state treasurer -- emerged the survivor Tuesday of a wicked mano a mano brawl with state Controller Steve Westly for his party's gubernatorial nomination. And no one could have been more pleased than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is waiting in the wings to take him on in November. "When it comes to Angelides, it would be hard to single out his biggest liability because he's a walking Achilles heel,'' said Garry South, the chief strategist for the Westly campaign. "Arnold and his Karl Rove-trained wrecking crew will tear the...

Even as the nation’s best-known governor refuses to say whether he will oppose a new oil tax contained in a November ballot initiative, several leading conservatives steadfastly stand by him. “The Democrats of Sacramento represent a tax-and-spend agenda that is not likely to change,” wrote the GOP’s “great right hope” of ‘02, Bill Simon Jr., in the latest American Spectator. “The governor could go a long way if he represented a stark contrast to that agenda. People like candidates with a vision, and Schwarzenegger has a reform-minded one.” On the balance, Arnold’s been a great governor,” Scott Baugh, former GOP...

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's poll numbers are looking better -- especially among the state's independent voters -- and he has gained the edge when matched against his potential Democratic challengers in the November general election, a Field Poll released today shows. The Field Poll released today showed the Republican governor has improved his standing and is now viewed favorably by an equal percentage of voters surveyed -- 46 percent -- as those who view him unfavorably. The governor's improvement is based on a significant jump among independent voters. Independents view him positively by 46 to 41 percent -- an increase...

Spokesman says the governor plans to veto curriculum measure, but Kuehl insists it can still pass. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto a bill passed by the Senate and pending in the Assembly to revise California's school curriculum to include the contributions of gays and lesbians to the state and nation, a gubernatorial spokesman said Wednesday. "The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation," said Schwarzenegger's director of communications, Adam Mendelsohn. "However, he does not support the Legislature micromanaging curriculum." Wednesday's announcement signaled a death blow to the efforts of state Sen. Sheila Kuehl,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a bipartisan delegation of legislative leaders flew around the state yesterday to promote the $37.3 billion public works bond package approved last week for the November ballot. “When I ran for governor, people always said it would be impossible to bring Democrats and Republicans together,” the Republican governor told an airport news conference in San Diego. “But we've proven again that we can come together.” Schwarzenegger highlighted school construction money that would go to San Diego if the education component of the package is approved in the November election. “For San Diego, this means that for...

AS A SMALL business consultant for the past 10 years, I saw the effect that high workers' compensation insurance had on small businesses, and I can tell you that the changes instituted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger two years ago most definitely have benefitted California. First, we have 575,000 new jobs in California while Schwarzenegger has been in office. Before he became governor, businesses were fleeing California for states with lower costs of doing business. Now, job-creation is vibrant in our state. Second, we have workers' comp cost-savings that are topping 40 percent. And another 16-percent cut in premiums is on...

The state has collected $1.5 billion more in income taxes for the month of April than the Schwarzenegger administration expected, leading to a heated debate about how to spend the windfall. The state had collected $9.7 billion for the month as of Wednesday, with two more days to count returns. On Wednesday alone, $1.65 billion flowed into state coffers, which budget officials said is among the highest one-day totals in state history. H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesman, said the numbers reflect a growing economy but warned the state must first pay off debts and guard against lawsuits. The...

SACRAMENTO – The reappointment of state Education Secretary Alan Bersin to the state Board of Education was confirmed by a Senate committee yesterday, despite union opposition stemming from his years as head of San Diego schools. The California Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association, which represents non-teachers, urged the Democratic-controlled committee to reject Bersin because of his legacy in San Diego. “During his reign in San Diego his leadership style was extremely divisive,” Lyssa Sassman of the CTA told the committee. “It divided the community. It hurt teacher morale, and it did not significantly improve student achievement.” The...

April 17, 2006--For the first time in Election 2006, Governor Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has opened a significant lead over his Democratic challengers.The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll in California shows Schwarzenegger leading State Treasurer Phil Angelides (D) by double digits, 49% to 36%. The candidates had been neck-and-neck in our previous polls.The Governor leads State Comptroller Steve Westly (D) 48% to 40%. Schwarzenegger and Westly were essentially even in March. In February, Schwarzenegger led Westly 39% to 34%.This is the first Rasmussen Reports election poll of the season in California where the incumbent has come even close to the...

California voters remain unhappy with their elected officials in Sacramento. Both Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature continue to receive poor job ratings, with just 39% of voters currently approving of the performance of the Governor and 28% saying this with regard to the state legislature. In addition, a 56% majority of Californians feels the direction of the state is seriously off on the wrong track, twice the proportion (28%) who see the state moving in the right direction. Voter still favor by a 57% to 30% margin the Governor’s proposal to spend $200 billion over ten years on...

Angelides’ winning message Phil Angelides is urging Democrats to vote for him over his opponent Steve Westly because he will raise their taxes higher. Quite a boast. Angelides’ tax-hiking enthusiasm would make Walter Mondale blush. Republicans can only hope Angelides wins. If he does, Republicans can reprise some of Westly’s rebuttals. Angelides has “never seen a tax he didn’t like,” Westly said, adding that “only in California would you have a candidate who’s going out that far” to endorse taxes. (This exchange was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle.) Slashing at Westly for his insufficient commitment to taxes, Angelides revealingly...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday called for a market-based approach to reducing industrial emissions of "greenhouse" gases, endorsing a plan to combat global warming that faces opposition from business and Republican leaders. Schwarzenegger said he supported requiring companies to report their carbon emissions and creating financial incentives to limit the release of greenhouse gases. "Let's work together to create the world's best market-based system to limit and slash emissions," he said. The governor voiced his support for a plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions and other gases blamed for climate change from power plants, oil refineries and factories operating in...

In a television commercial airing in major California media markets, state Controller Steve Westly evokes former President Carter to boost his conservationist credentials. NARRATOR: He's practical ... a problem solver with experience that sets him apart. Under President Carter, he worked on solar energy and conservation. Pro-choice. Defender of the environment. Committed to education. Steve Westly. Democrat. A different kind of governor. .... Analysis: ...... But while the ad shows a young Westly shaking Carter's hand, the former president hasn't endorsed his candidacy. Deanna Congileo, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center in Atlanta, said he makes no endorsements in primary...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle illegally over the weekend when he collided with a car in his Brentwood neighborhood, the Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday. Police Lt. Paul Vernon said Schwarzenegger does not have the proper motorcycle endorsement on his California driver's license, contradicting statements made by his spokeswoman since the Sunday accident that left the governor with 15 stitches in his upper lip. "He does not have the license," Vernon said. Police did not cite the governor because they arrived after the accident, Vernon said. Police referred their findings to the...

"I'll be back." That pledge from the Terminator traditionally has had special meaning in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. But now — after the California governor refused to spare two convicted murderers in a row from their death sentences and showed no signs of relenting in another case up next month — the romance is over between Schwarzenegger and Graz, Austria's second-largest city. Acting on Schwarzenegger's orders two weeks after the Dec. 13 execution of former Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, city leaders Tuesday deleted all references to the bodybuilder-turned-governor on Web sites linked to Graz. Over the weekend, they also...

Gov. Shwarzeneggar expected to make announcement on Tookie Williams Execution Clemency shortly according to Fox News.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused Monday to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution after midnight in a case that stirred debate over capital punishment and the possibility of redemption on death row. Schwarzenegger was not swayed by pleas from Hollywood stars and petitions from more than 50,000 people who said that Williams had made amends during more than two decades in prison by writing a memoir and a series of children's books about the dangers of gangs. With a reprieve from the federal courts considered unlikely, Williams, 51, was set...

California Republicans are in open revolt against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over his hiring of a Democratic operative as his new chief of staff. And one leading state GOP official is touting actor Mel Gibson as a possible Republican primary challenger to Schwarzenegger. Officials with the California Republican Party are said to be furious with Schwarzenegger and have demanded a private meeting with the governor to complain about his appointment of Susan P. Kennedy, who was a Cabinet secretary during the administration of Gov. Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was elected governor after an extraordinary effort succeeded to recall Davis in 2003.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- attempting to regain his political footing after a devastating special election defeat this month -- has begun a shakeup of his administration by replacing his chief of staff with a former state Democratic Party official and top adviser to former Gov. Gray Davis, Democratic and Republican sources said Tuesday. The hiring of Susan Kennedy, widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans in Sacramento as a workhorse operative for Davis, is expected to be announced officially as early as today. The move could kick off major protests from conservative Republicans. Appointed by Davis to the California Public...

SACRAMENTO — In an unexpected election-year gift for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California coffers are suddenly flush with enough cash to wipe out what was projected to be a multibillion-dollar gap in next year's state budget. Nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Elizabeth G. Hill reported Wednesday that, largely because of robust economic growth, tax receipts were far exceeding forecasts. At the current rate, the state is heading toward ending the fiscal year in June with a budget reserve of $5.2 billion — four times what was anticipated when the governor signed the budget over the summer. Hill, whom lawmakers of both parties look...

Dear Governor: November 9, 2005 06:19 AM EST There is no such thing as a fusion candidate, no such thing as a bipartisan campaign or a non-partisan issue, and come election night, there are just two parties, one at the GOP HQ and one at the Dem HQ. There's a winners' party and a losers' party. Last night you were speaking to the losers' party. I didn't go. Why bother? The polls had shown for a few days that only Prop 75 had a chance (the measure to stop public employee unions from deducting political dues from their members' paychecks...

TODAY, Californians are heading to the polls to vote on several major propositions that shall dramatically affect both the political and economic future of our state. We are following the activity and will report the results. California Propositions 2.8% of precincts reporting as of Nov 08 08:13 PM PST Results: http://www.sfgate.com/election/

My Fellow FReepers, As it now past midnight (well at least for those of us in Central Standard Time) and I did a general search and couldn't find a single thread dedicated to election 2005, I have taken the liberty of creating one. THIS is the place to post all your updates and discussions on '05 races around the country. From the Boston Mayoral Race to the fight for Virginia Attorney General, keep the adrenaline flowing here. Will the GOP make a midterm gubernatorial comeback after suffering through the 2001 "mistakes" of McGreeley and Mark Warner? Will Ahnuld, the...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A television station apologized to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday after discovering that several Democratic activists were in its audience for a voter forum. The forum at KNBC was intended to help voters learn more about Schwarzenegger's slate of initiatives on Tuesday's ballot. But the Republican governor was peppered with questions with a partisan slant during Thursday's broadcast, and at one point a man in the audience tried to shout him down. The audience of about 75 people was selected by a research company, which was directed to assemble a balanced group of voters from the Los...

It is the political equivalent of one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's early action movies. The hero is attacked on all sides by a dizzying array of opponents: the well-organized troops of the enemy, a motley crew of affiliated insurgent forces, and then — at the height of the battle — his own supposed allies turn against him. But the hero fights on. This is the current state of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s battle to bring fundamental political and fiscal reform to California through direct ballot referendum (search). Opponents are set to spend more than $80 million to defeat initiatives that promote redistricting reform,...

The John Ziegler Show on KFI has revealed the identify of the questioners of last night's state-wide broadcast forum on NBC and Telemundo. The forum included Arnold, Barbar Kerr (teacher's union) and Fabian Nunez (Dem legislator). Two of the questioners for Arnold are members Democrat central committees and one is a Democrat Congressional candidate! This forum allegedly included an independently selected balanced audience.

Thirty contributors have bankrolled nearly two-thirds of the estimated $300 million that will be spent on Tuesday's special election. The high rollers include unions, drug companies, business groups and individuals that have pumped $1 million apiece or more -- often much more -- into the initiative battle called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Led by the $56.6 million spent by the California Teachers Association, these contributors have raised more than $189 million for an off-year election no one expected. "It's an unprecedented amount of money that violates the intent of all the campaign spending laws," said Joe Cerrell, a longtime Democratic...