CA: Governor rallies Democrats in S.J.

Mercury News ^ | 3/2/04 | Lori Aratani

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A few months ago, they were on different sides in the bitter recall campaign. But on Sunday, two days before another election, California's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state's top Republican, stood together in San Jose -- unified.

This time, the two parties' leaders share the same concern. Both are urging voters to back a pair of measures -- a $15 billion bond to balance the state budget and a balanced-budget requirement -- they say are critical to the state's fiscal health.

``The main message of today is looking up here and understanding what you see,'' Feinstein told a crowd of nearly 100 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose. ``What you see is major Democratic elected officials in the state of California supporting this Republican governor, saying now is the time we have to pass Propositions 57 and 58.''

An exuberant Schwarzenegger was joined on stage by other prominent Democrats: state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, Secretary of State Kevin Shelly, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales as well a broad coalition of local elected and union officials, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union.

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Lots of Democrats being courted. Here's some snips from today's :

VAN NUYS, Calif. -- There was no escaping California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this weekend.

In an onslaught of radio and television ads, taped phone messages to voters and a statewide bus tour he called “The Road to Recovery Express,” Schwarzenegger made fervent final pleas for the passage of two measures on Tuesday’s ballot that he says will save California from financial ruin.

And the Republican governor did it all with Democrats at his side.

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Now, polls suggest that the once skeptical electorate is finding the governor’s arguments -- and threats -- persuasive. A Field Poll released last week showed that both measures, which are known as Propositions 57 and 58, have double-digit leads.

Political analysts are calling the swift turnaround remarkable, and say it is due in large part to Schwarzenegger’s popularity and unusual ability to attract prominent Democratic officeholders and interest groups to his cause.