Schwarzenegger Campaigns Amid Protesters, Backers
By Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press Writer - March 7, 2005BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took his special election campaign to two cities Wednesday, keeping up what he hopes will be enough pressure to push legislators into approving some of his proposals to change the state's government and political system.
A crowd of about 150 people greeted Schwarzenegger at his first stop, a diner in Bakersfield. Unlike campaign appearances last year, when he pushed for workers' compensation insurance reform, protesters equaled supporters.
Nurses, teachers and public safety personnel chanted and held up signs opposing Schwarzenegger's proposals, while a less vocal crowd of local residents called out in support of the governor when he arrived at the noontime event. Some help up red, white and blue signs that said, ``Help Arnold Save California.''
The governor arrived in a black SUV, strode into the diner shaking hands, distributing campaign literature. He told one table of businessmen having lunch: ``Please read through this. It's our reform proposal. The only way we are going to get things done is if the people do it because the Legislature won't.''
Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he was backing the efforts to put three initiatives on the ballot for a special election expected in the fall. They would move new state employees into a private, 401(k)-style pension plan, change the way the state's legislative and congressional districts are drawn and restructure how public school teachers earn tenure.
Most of the crowd inside the restaurant in this Republican-dominated city backed the Republican governor and were receptive to his plans.
Harvey Campbell, an agriculture consultant from Bakersfield, signed petitions supporting the governor's pension initiative and redistricting. ``Unfortunately, this is the only way we can get anything done with this draconian Legislature,'' he said.
Michael Garcia, a contractor from Bakersfield, said the "governor should have added workers' compensation to the package." Schwarzenegger and the Legislature agreed last year on major changes to the workers' compensation system, a deal that came after Schwarzenegger launched a similar petition campaign.
Shai Gordon, who owns a nearby restaurant, said he supports the governor because "he's bringing back the power to the people."
Later in the day, Schwarzenegger toured a drapery manufacturing plant in the San Francisco suburb of Hayward as a large group of protesters stood outside.
Inside, he was introduced to supporters by Paul Russo, the president of American Blinds and Draperies and a self-described Democrat. Russo thanked Schwarzenegger for enacting last year's workers' compensation changes, saying his workers' comp costs had gone up 651 percent since 2000.
"This man entered office with a mandate by the people, from the people to make a difference,'' Russo said, as Schwarzenegger nodded and beamed. "He did not enter office to continue business as usual, and he's not. And that's why I will always support him."
In upbeat remarks, Schwarzenegger called the protesters "special interests'' intent on blocking reform, and vowed that they wouldn't succeed.
"Everywhere I go, they will be protesting. They will run ads, how bad I am, what a terrible governor I am, all those things in order to tear me down. They are outside now, waiting there," he said to broad laughter.
And while he repeated his charge that the Democrat-controlled legislature is filled with ``spending addicts'' whose refusal to negotiate on his reform proposals had prompted the signature gathering drive, he later told reporters that he had seen evidence that suggested they may be willing to reconsider.
"I see signs from upstairs, from the legislators, that they are going to come down and figure out how to negotiate _ encouraging signs,'' Schwarzenegger said. "So I think the beginning of the signature gathering has put the extra pressure on them.''
Outside the plant, Martha Kuhl, a pediatric nurse from Oakland, said she and other nurses would continue to follow Schwarzenegger around the state to protest his decision to delay a plan intended to ease nurse-patient staffing ratios.
"I go to work every day from 3 p.m. and don't get off until way after midnight because we are so busy taking care of kids with cancer,'' Kuhl said. "I know what a special interest is. It's your child."
Schwarzenegger has two similar events scheduled for Thursday in Santa Ana and San Diego.
Associated Press Writer Beth Fouhy contributed to this report from Hayward. | 
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