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As he bounded toward the stage to address Californians for the first time as governor-elect, Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed stunned at being catapulted from superstar to leader of the world's eighth-largest economy during the historic 2003 recall election. "Only in America," he whispered to reporters before hitting the spotlight. Only in California is more like it: Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was still in a loincloth and killing bad guys with a sword as "Conan the Barbarian" in the early 1980s when Jerry Brown was finishing his second term as governor. Only in California could such a political newcomer charge into the governor's...

Arnold Schwarzenegger dished out make-believe mayhem during his action movie hero days, but he must be a closet masochist. Why else would he say, as he often does, that he'd love to remain governor of California? He's already one of the most unpopular governors in state history, and he's leaving behind an economy that's erased more than a million jobs and a state budget deficit that's worse than the one he inherited seven years ago. A rational man would jet to his ski lodge in Sun Valley and return to Sacramento just in time to hand the mess to successor...

Hollywood and political heavyweights are scheduled to attend a global summit at the University of California, Davis this month.

Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown have found a new way to win voters' hearts: compare the other to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the embattled incumbent whose popularity is in the tank. Brown, the Democratic nominee for governor, started airing a TV ad Tuesday sampling video clips of Schwarzenegger and Whitman, years apart, making sometimes-verbatim appeals about their qualifications and ideas. It suggests the Republican governor failed in office and Whitman would too. Whitman's campaign returned fire within hours, saying Brown, on certain environmental and tax policies, is the candidate more like Schwarzenegger. It was a lot of dumping for one day...

California first lady Maria Shriver, one of the Kennedy clan, says Democrats and average Californians are urging her to influence her husband, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on how to deal with painful budget cuts to state social programs. "My office is inundated with hundreds of calls every day: 'Why don't I solve this?' " she said. But "it's not like you can just walk in; it's not so easy," she added. "The last thing all the legislators - and Arnold - need is that concept." Shriver made the comments in an interview with The Chronicle Wednesday, saying that while the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has challenged many members of his party to take climate change seriously, said Friday that he plans to invite lawmakers and governmental executives from around the globe to California this fall to address solutions to the problem. The governor said he will invite officials from Europe, as well as from Australia, China, India and other countries, in the hope of forming an international alliance of community and regional leaders. He is planning the conference for November, a month before the United Nations holds its next round of international climate talks...

In a surprising move, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Proposition 93 on Monday despite earlier statements that he would not support a change in legislators' term limits unless it was linked to a redistricting measure. "Proposition 93 is good public policy, irrespective of redistricting, and on its own it will go a long way toward improving the quality of state government in California," Schwarzenegger said in an op-ed piece scheduled to be published Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times. Proposition 93 opponents accused the Republican governor of caving in to pressure from Democratic legislative leaders as part of a backroom deal...

Jerry Brown may have invented the so-called "canoe theory" of politics (paddle a little left, paddle a little right, end up in the center) but Arnold Schwarzenegger has probably come the closest to perfecting it. And this morning the two most recognizable faces in California government looked all the world like BFFs -- best (environmental) friends forever. The attorney general and the governor were there to announce the long-expected filing of a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for inaction on California's request to regulate auto emissions. For almost two years, the agency has been sitting on California's request...

SACRAMENTO – During the 2003 recall that thrust him into office, Arnold Schwarzenegger accused then-Gov. Gray Davis of mismanagement and hinted that he was corrupt. But when his administration has needed expertise or become embroiled in political trouble, Schwarzenegger hasn't hesitated to hire top officials who worked for Davis, a Democrat. Last week the Republican governor selected Mary Nichols, a former chief environmental aide to Davis, as chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board to try to calm the controversy over his firing of the state's top air-quality regulator. Nichols is one of at least six key players in the...

SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called President Bush “very courageous” Tuesday for pressing ahead with a contentious immigration reform plan, a welcome boost from a fellow Republican on an issue that has split the party. Schwarzenegger rebuked those he described as partisan critics for trying to torpedo the bipartisan immigration deal struck by the Senate. It would allow 12 million illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. while they took steps to gain citizenship. “I think it's inexcusable that we have had this system, and that people are fighting from the far right and the far left over this...

In the state's biggest, immediate step toward cutting global warming pollution, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week began shifting California's 26 million cars and trucks off petroleum-based fuels and toward alternatives that emit less greenhouse gas. The governor said his new greenhouse-gas standard for transportation fuels -- the world's first -- "leads us away from fossil fuel" and would help "in moving the entire country beyond debate, denial and inaction" on global warming. State air-pollution regulators expect to work out the details during the next 18 months. The policy would limit the amount of greenhouse gases released for each bit of...

Tapping some of his usual sources, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has raised at least $640,000 so far for his second inaugural celebration, largely from corporations and business groups that lobby at the Capitol. The Republican governor's inauguration committee released a list of 31 initial contributors on Friday. Most of them are major donors who have given a total of $2.8 million to Schwarzenegger's campaign committees since he ran for governor in the 2003 recall election. The committee did not give a breakdown specifying how much each donor contributed to fund the two-day inaugural celebration. But it said five contributors - Adams...

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign was beginning to take shape last year, prototypes of the governor's reelection posters were ordered. One poster used the colors red and black, and simply had one word: "Arnold." When the posters were presented to the governor and his wife, Maria Shriver, Shriver bristled. She wanted something unconventional, something that highlighted the fact that, despite his loss weeks earlier in the special election, Schwarzenegger was not an ordinary political candidate. Shriver, in a dramatic portent of things to come during the campaign, got exactly what she wanted: New posters came back, with colors chosen...

REPLACEMENT: The governor is confident he can legalize the road for undocumented residents. By / Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO - Gov. Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he was "absolutely positive we'll come up with a great bill" to replace a law granting driver licenses to undocumented immigrants that was repealed days after he took office. It was a strong sign he supports giving driver licenses to California residents in the state illegally. Schwarzenegger said his office has been working closely with state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, to craft a successor to SB 60. The law became a lighting rod for criticism during...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to propose a 10% fee increase for Californians attending college at the University of California and California State University and a fee hike of up to 40% for graduate students at the universities, sources familiar with the governor's budget said Wednesday. At the same time, the budget is expected to contain reductions in college financial aid for students from moderate-income families. Diana Fuentes-Michel, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission, said she expects the governor's proposal to tighten qualifications for Cal Grants, the state's main financial aid program.

Social conservatives have a viable candidate in McClintock TORONTO, August 28, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Steve Jalsevac, a long-time political analyst with Campaign Life Coalition Canada suggests that were actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to capture the Republican Governorship of California it would mean political damage for the Republican Party. "A core constituency within the Republican Party is its social conservatives, most importantly those who are pro-life and pro-family. Schwarzenegger is so obviously a liberal on social issues, his running as a Republican reeks of opportunism and demeans the party's integrity," said Jalsevac. Republicans have another capable candidate in the race who is...