CA: Governor's ballot retreat may open doors to Democrats

SACRAMENTO (AP) - By delaying his proposed ballot initiative to privatize much of the state's public pension system, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may have made the first move toward defusing a divisive and expensive special election campaign this fall, elected officials and political observers said Thursday.

Schwarzenegger, dogged by growing public protests that have eroded his support in the polls, "has taken a major step back from the brink," said Darry Sragow, a Democratic consultant who helped Schwarzenegger win passage last year of Propositions 57 and 58.

Schwarzenegger, he said, could be returning to the bipartisan "style and process of governing that we saw from him during his first year in office."

Another Democratic ally of the governor in last year's March election, Controller Steve Westly said the special election is a "poor policy" that would cost taxpayers $70 million they cannot afford.

Westly said the governor has retreated on his broad plans from last year to reorganize state government, the California Performance Review, and now has retreated on one of his key ballot initiatives. "Some of the momentum is gone."

Schwarzenegger cited "misconceptions" Thursday by public safety workers that his pension measure would strip them of death and disability benefits as he withdrew the initiative. He also offered to work with critics to develop a new pension plan that would protect workers and save taxpayers money.

Schwarzenegger said dumping the pension initiative wouldn't affect his plans to push three other initiatives to the fall ballot. Those measures would limit teacher tenure, limit government spending and give control over drawing legislative districts to retired judges.

While many experts said the pension measure was flawed and needed to be fixed, Schwarzenegger's decision to drop it comes as the sheen has been scraped off his political image. For example:

- A new poll out Thursday from San Jose State University found Schwarzenegger's job approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he took office, as more Californians say he cares more about public relations "gimmicks" than with working with legislators to get things done.

- Nurses and other public employees held another vocal and vivid protest at a Schwarzenegger fund-raising event in Santa Rosa. The protest came just a few days after close to 4,000 union workers rallied outside a San Francisco hotel against the governor's ballot measures and other policies.

- His administration scrambled to deal with the Senate's removal Wednesday of a Schwarzenegger nominee to the teachers' pension board - a retaliation for the governor's firing last month of four nominees who opposed his pension measure.

Schwarzenegger bristled Thursday when asked if polls and protests had influenced his decision.

"The protesters and the poll numbers have absolutely no impact on what I do," he said. "Because I'm very focused to shoot for what needs to be fixed. The people of California sent me to Sacramento fix the problems, to fix the broken system."

Some Democrats cheered the decision, although legislative leaders said they hoped they could work with the Republican governor on an alternative pension plan.

"I called it a retreat from this ambitious effort to come after everyone with guns loaded," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, who added that "whoever has been advising him on this ought to get fired."

Most of Schwarzenegger's plans can - and should - be worked out with Democrats in the Legislature, said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland.

The governor brought some of the attacks on himself by pushing a poorly written pension plan, said Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican consultant based in Los Angeles.

"The unions had outflanked him," said Hoffenblum. "While he was still in the planning and fund-raising stage, they were out in full campaign mode, actively out trying to persuade public opinion."

Schwarzenegger made a "rookie" mistake by not distinguishing between the unions and the workers they represent, Hoffenblum said. "You need to be careful to aim at the union itself and not the professions that make up the union."

Another Republican strategist, Dan Schnur, said by jettisoning the pension plan, Schwarzenegger has actually strengthened his hand for a special election. That's because the pension measure was the most unpopular and most able to unify Democratic groups against him.

"By clearing it out of the way, the chances of passage of all of the rest greatly improve," Schnur said.

The new poll, released by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University, found that just 43 percent of adults approve of the job Schwarzenegger is doing as governor, with 43 percent saying they disapprove. In January, 59 percent said they approved of Schwarzenegger's job performance, while 26 percent disapproved.

The poll, drawn among 1,030 California adults during the five-day period ending April 1, found just 39 percent of Californians believe the state is on the right track, a reversal from January when 52 percent of those polled said the state was going in the right direction.

"By clearing it out of the way, the chances of passage of all of the rest greatly improve," Schnur said.

Nice spin, Dan.

With this victory, the union goons will now have more money to pool to thwart the other initiative proposals such as changing teacher tenure and the other one on receiving permission before dues can be spent on political activities. Anything left over can be funnelled to stop redistricting.

The unions have found a weak spot on Arnold and they have him running with his tail between his legs. No guts, no glory.

"The unions had outflanked him," said Hoffenblum. "While he was still in the planning and fund-raising stage, they were out in full campaign mode, actively out trying to persuade public opinion." ..... non-stop here in the Bay Area media market for 2 months or so..

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But..

There's a silver lining .. in another politicos opinion, at least..

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"By clearing it out of the way, the chances of passage of all of the rest greatly improve," Schnur said.

This Arnold voter who also likes McClintock knows that Arnold has gotten farther with other things than Tom ever could. This was a tough issue and the lies in the union ads playing in heavy rotation on the radio were completely outrageous and difficult to combat. The union is going to be a tough nut to crack, but I have faith that Arnold (NOT "Rnold") can do it.

This Arnold voter who also likes McClintock knows that Arnold has gotten farther with other things than Tom ever could.

Actually, you're wrong. Tom would have exercised the line-item veto power the governor has. Arnold on the other hand ranted and raved like a mad-man against excess government spending ("We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem"-remember that Arnold blast from the past?) yet failed to veto one dollar from last years budget. He could have gotten us out of this mess with numerous strokes of his pen.

Given that the dems lack a 2/3 majority in the assembly, there isn't a darn thing the Dems could have done to stop his vetos. He could have ended the spending problem he so has rightly identified is the true bone in the throat of this state. But no, he decided, as he usually does, to take the easy way out and borrow some $15 billion in new spending. Given Tom's record in the Senate, I'm sure he would have had the gonads to have vetoed said spending. I know that Arnold had no record to run on, just a lot of nice, cute and funny lines from his moives. Don't feel bad about being taken by the great actor from Austria, many people were. Next time though, listen to logic and not emotion.

By the way, Tom's running for Lt. Governor so there is still some hope for this state, despite Arnold's making problems worse.

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