www.signonsandiego.com

Governor vows to do more to reach Latinos


In San Diego, Schwarzenegger campaigns for his ballot agenda
By John Marelius
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 1, 2005

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger responded yesterday to escalating criticism from Latino activists, saying he made a mistake in not doing more to reach out to the nation's fastest-growing minority.






JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger discussed his Nov. 8 ballot measures yesterday at the Joslyn Senior Center in Escondido.
He also sought to clarify his position on same-sex marriage, saying he believes that gay and lesbian couples should be entitled to the same legal protections as heterosexual ones, but that marriage "should be between a man and a woman."
The governor weighed in on the emotionally charged topics at a meeting with The San Diego Union-Tribune's editorial board during a visit to the San Diego area to campaign for his Nov. 8 special election ballot agenda.

Some Latinos have criticized Schwarzenegger as having failed to appoint enough Latinos to judgeships and high positions in his administration. Schwarzenegger said he has been so preoccupied with California's economic woes since his election in the 2003 recall that he has not paid as much attention to Latino concerns as he should.

"We in the administration have not done the best job with Latinos," the governor said. "It is regretful to say that because I concentrated so much on fixing the economy, fixing this and fixing that and was overwhelmed with so many different things when I took office, that we have, not intentionally, but just neglected to bring in more Latinos, have more meetings, more outreach to Latino groups."

He added, "I am committed to doing much more and for us to focus on that now because that's a mistake that was made."

Schwarzenegger received a solid 32 percent of the Latino vote two years ago as the top candidate to replace ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, according to aLos Angeles Times exit poll. Since then, his esteem among Latinos has slid precipitously. In a poll released this week by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, only 18 percent of Latino voters approved of the job the Republican governor is doing.

Schwarzenegger has been assailed by Latino leaders for praising the Minutemen border watchers and for refusing to sign legislation allowing illegal immigrants to obtain special driver licenses after initially signaling his intention to do so.

He later said he would not sign a driver license bill until the federal government adopts a uniform nationwide policy.

Schwarzenegger also caused a stir in April for saying the United States should "close" the border. The Austrian immigrant governor quickly said that this was a misstatement because of language problems and that he meant to say "secure" the border.

"Because of my stand on driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, because of my stand about securing the borders, automatically I have been labeled as someone that is prejudiced, someone that is a racist, someone that just doesn't want other immigrants to enjoy the same kind of opportunities that I have had when I came over here as an immigrant and all that, which is all a bunch of nonsense," he said.

Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, said Schwarzenegger has a lot of lost ground to make up with Latino voters.

"It's impossible to think that he couldn't find one Latino to put in his Cabinet," Torres said. "That's kind of stretching it.

"I don't think that he's a racist. I don't think he's anti-Latino," Torres added. "I just think some of his comments have been ill-founded and incendiary to the Latino community. And I guess now he's realizing that, given the poll numbers."

On Thursday, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriages in California while signing four bills to outlaw various forms of discrimination against gays.

The governor reiterated yesterday that in vetoing AB 849, he felt bound by Proposition 22, the successful 2000 ballot initiative that says "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

"I cannot go against Prop. 22," he said. "Just simply, I will not let the legislators tamper with the people's vote."

Asked how he voted on Proposition 22, Schwarzenegger, who has resisted expressing a personal opinion about same-sex marriage, hesitated and then said he "probably voted for it."

The governor said public attitudes about same-sex marriage might well have changed in the five years since Proposition 22 was approved with 61 percent of the vote. One public opinion poll recently suggested that Californians were evenly split on the issue.

"If they go back to the people, it could easily be that it will win, that it will pass, that we will have marriage amongst gay couples," Schwarzenegger said.

He did not respond directly when asked what position he would take if an initiative to legalize same-sex marriage were placed on the ballot.

"I personally think that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. But I think a gay couple should have all the rights that a marriage has," he told the Union-Tribune editorial board, which regularly hosts newsmakers to discuss current events and invites reporters and editors from the newsroom.

Yesterday morning, Schwarzenegger promoted the package of Nov. 8 ballot measures he is backing at a meeting of about 200 people at the Joslyn Senior Center in Escondido.

The governor came armed with a new study by a sympathetic business group that concluded that Proposition 76, his initiative to control state spending, could actually increase school spending over the long term rather than cut it as opponents contend.

Larry McCarthy, president of the California Taxpayers Association, said Proposition 76 would allow the state to earmark one-time revenues, such as the proceeds from this year's tax amnesty, for education without increasing the state's permanent financial commitment to schools.

"Under current law, it is impossible really to give schools any one-time money," McCarthy said.

Cal-Tax's view that Proposition 76 would result in more funding for schools than current law is not shared by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, which writes the ballot pamphlet analyses and issued a 13-page report on the measure yesterday.

Legislative Analyst Liz Hill said in her report that "budget reductions resulting from the spending limit or (the) governor's new authority could apply to schools."

The main parts of Proposition 76 impose a loose limit on the growth in state spending, based on the average of revenue growth in the three previous years, and allow the governor to make midyear spending cuts if the budget falls out of balance and the Legislature fails to close the gap within 45 days.

Outside the senior center, an estimated 180 protesters shouted and chanted against the governor and his ballot propositions. Led by longtime Escondido firefighter Mike O'Connor, wearing his helmet and toting a bullhorn and a U.S. flag, the protesters lined up along Broadway and Park Place.

"Why don't you come out here where the real people are?" O'Connor shouted into his bullhorn.

Mike Diaz, another Escondido firefighter, sat atop the Escondido Firefighters Association's antique fire engine, sounding its loud siren, shortly after the governor's arrival in a dark sport utility vehicle.

Although most of the demonstrators appeared to be firefighters from throughout North County, they were joined by teachers and nurses who also object to Schwarzenegger's ballot initiatives.

"The governor needs to hear from the working folks, but he seems to be listening mostly to big business," said Sandy Dewees, an emergency-room nurse in the Palomar Pomerado Health district.