Thread: Schwarzenegger Woos Hispanics for Support

www.washingtonpost.com

Schwarzenegger Woos Hispanics for Support

By TOM CHORNEAU
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 22, 2005; 8:05 PM



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise from immigrant to Hollywood superstar won him the hearts of California's large Hispanic population two years ago and their votes helped elect him governor.

But after stumbling over border issues and rejecting legislation that would benefit immigrants, Schwarzenegger now finds himself unpopular with this critical group, which makes up about a third of the state's population.

To shore up his standing, Schwarzenegger will travel Friday for his first official visit to the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California for meetings with Mexican leaders.

And his political campaign plans to spend more than $1 million in the coming weeks for ads on Spanish language television to promote his ballot measures on the upcoming Nov. 8 election.

Some are not sure those efforts will be enough.

"He's lost a big part of the Latino community for good," said Jamie Regalado, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. "Some he may be able to bring back but he needs to reverse this sense of indifference many feel he has toward Latinos."

Indeed, recent polls show that just 17 percent of Hispanic voters approve of Schwarzenegger's job performance. That stands in sharp contrast to the nearly 30 percent of Hispanics who voted for him in the 2003 recall election _ considered a huge win for a Republican in California.

His troubles started when he opposed granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. He also proposed big health and welfare spending cuts that would have hit Hispanics hard.

In a highly publicized miscue earlier this year, Schwarzenegger said California's border with Mexico should be closed _ a remark he quickly corrected and apologized for. Schwarzenegger said he meant the border should be secured.

The missteps have led even some Republicans to worry about Schwarzenegger's standing with Hispanics. Last week's GOP convention in Anaheim was buzzing about an open letter several Hispanic Republicans circulated criticizing Schwarzenegger on issues such as not appointing enough Hispanics to high-ranking posts.

The governor's aides put a much different slant on his record.

They note that 10 percent of appointments have been Hispanic _ out of a tiny pool of applicants. They point to several top posts going to Hispanics including Schwarzenegger's chief spokeswoman, Margita Thompson, and a member of the University of California Regents, Fred Ruiz.

They also argue that the governor's pro-business policies have helped many small businesses _ including those owned by Hispanics.

And they point out that he has done many things for Hispanics, including a groundbreaking order long sought by farmworkers that mandates breaks and training to avoid heat stroke.

Mike Murphy, Schwarzenegger's top campaign strategist, said the polls are misleading and there remains a reservoir of support for the governor.

"This was an important group in the recall election and there's still a lot of good will there," he said. "We just have to muscle up our message to them."

Instead of trying to WOO Mexicans on their soil, he needs to be WOOing the citizens of California by trying to fix that cesspool. How bout it girlieman?