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Schwarzenegger Faces 'Tough Choices'
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Recall Davis?
· Yes 54.2%
· No 45.8%
Replacement Candidates
· Schwarzenegger
3,398,746, 47.6%
· Bustamante
2,333,687, 32.7%
· McClintock
944,532, 13.2%
96% of precincts reporting
Source: AP
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seething over taxes and red ink, voters dumped the unpopular Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with political novice Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood action star who now faces the colossal challenge he asked for: jump-starting California's flagging economy.
Davis, the Democrat who presided over California's economy as it careened from boom to bust, was recalled Tuesday less than a year into his second term. According to partial returns, 54 percent of voters called for his ouster.
Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican with tons of charisma but virtually no political experience, was easily elected among candidates to replace Davis just two months after shocking even his closest aides when he declared his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
The action movie hero may find that the hardest part is yet to come. He will need to quickly assemble an administration and work with a Democrat-controlled Legislature to close a projected $8 billion shortfall for next fiscal year. Schwarzenegger scheduled an afternoon press conference Wednesday to discuss transition.
"We have tough choices ahead," Schwarzenegger said in declaring victory. "The first choice that we must make is the one that will determine our success. Shall we rebuild our state together or shall we fight amongst ourselves, create even deeper divisions and fail the people of California? Well, let me tell you something - the answer is clear. For the people to win, politics as usual must lose."
With 96 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, the recall was favored by 4,012,912 voters or 54.2 percent, and opposed by 3,396,890 voters or 45.8 percent.
Among the replacement candidates, Schwarzenegger was ahead with 3,398,746 votes, or 47.6 percent of the vote; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante had 2,333,687 votes, or 32.7 percent; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock had 944,532 votes, or 13.2 percent; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo had 203,766 votes, or 2.8 percent.
"Tonight, the voters did decide it's time for someone else to serve, and I accept their judgment," said Davis, the widely disliked career public servant who became the first California governor and the second in the nation ever to be recalled.
"I'm calling on everyone... to put the chaos and division of the recall behind us and do what's right for this great state of California," Davis said.
Barring a legal challenge, Schwarzenegger will be sworn in no later than Nov. 16 to serve out the remaining three years of Davis' term. First the vote must be certified, a process that can take more than a month. He would then be up for re-election in 2006.
Schwarzenegger will need to turn in a budget plan by Jan. 10, giving him just a few months to deliver on campaign-trail promises not to raise taxes or cut education spending, which consumes roughly 40 percent of California's budget. Throughout the campaign, Schwarzenegger refused to say what he would cut, but painful program slashing undoubtedly looms.
He also promised to repeal this year's tripling of the state vehicle license fee, although he has not said how he would make up the $4 billion that would cost.
Schwarzenegger must work with Democrats, who are a majority of both houses in the Legislature and hold all statewide offices except his newly-won governorship.
He dismissed the problem on the campaign trail, saying he knew how to work with Democrats because he's married to one - Kennedy relative Maria Shriver. In practice, it's likely to be a thornier issue.
Despite the rancorous recall race, Bustamante and other Democratic officeholders quickly pledged to put partisanship behind them and work with the new governor.
"As I see it, we campaign as partisans but we govern as Californians," said Bustamante, who will remain in office until his current term expires in 2006. "I know how to balance a budget and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work."
Democratic Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson of Los Angeles released a statement saying, "Californians do not want gridlock. They want us to act - without partisan rancor - on the issues that matter most to them. I will work with the new governor to make sure he keeps his promise to women, to our children and to our schools."
Schwarzenegger, 56, prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign's final days, surviving allegations from 16 women that he had groped or touched them in unwanted sexual advances, and accusations that as a young man he spoke admiringly of Adolf Hitler.
He denied the Hitler claims, which also were rebutted by associates, and dismissed some of the groping allegations as lies while apologizing for wrongdoing. "I have behaved badly sometimes," he said.
By the time those charges surfaced, the Schwarzenegger juggernaut could not be stopped, and voters' desire to oust the deeply unpopular Davis was too sharp to curb.
But the recall was more than a message to Davis, said former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who called the result a warning shot to all incumbent officeholders.
"It's a revolt of people who are increasingly angry at the crises that face them, and at the failure of leadership," Panetta said. " If I were a Republican, I wouldn't get too ****y about what happened."
Exit polling showed that many Hispanics and union members - two key groups in Davis' past electoral successes - deserted him as he suffered extraordinarily low job approval ratings amid widespread voter discontent about the state's economy, according to voter surveys conducted for The Associated Press and other news organizations by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Re-elected last year with less than 50 percent of the vote, Davis fell victim to a groundswell of grumbling in a state that has struggled with its perilous financial condition.
In the end, voters snapped back against their leaders, like they did in 1978 in capping property taxes with Proposition 13 and more recently in voting in term limits.
Schwarzenegger's improbable rise to political power played out before a rapt international audience. He campaigned as an outsider, grabbing a broom at a weekend campaign rally to clean up Sacramento and borrowing a line from the movie "Network" to tell charged-up supporters that "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"
The campaign included a parade of bit players among the 135 candidates, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, former child actor Gary Coleman and a porn actress who wanted to tax breast implants. But to many Californians, it was serious business.
"I'm horrified at the thought that Schwarzenegger can be our governor," said Gretchen Purser, 25, of Berkeley, who voted against recall. "I'm sick of Republicans trying to take over the state."
Ed Troupe, 69, of Thousand Oaks, voted yes for recall and for Schwarzenegger. "As far as I'm concerned," he said, "Gray Davis is one of the dirtiest politicians I've ever encountered."
Voters also rejected Proposition 54, a contentious initiative that would have banned state and local governments from tracking race in everything from preschools to police work. Voters across the racial spectrum rejected the measure, according to exit polling. Californians also said no to Proposition 53, which would have set aside up to 3 percent of the state budget every year beginning in 2006 to build and rebuild infrastructure.
10/08/03 07:33 EDT
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Recall Davis?
· Yes 54.2%
· No 45.8%
Replacement Candidates
· Schwarzenegger
3,398,746, 47.6%
· Bustamante
2,333,687, 32.7%
· McClintock
944,532, 13.2%
96% of precincts reporting
Source: AP
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seething over taxes and red ink, voters dumped the unpopular Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with political novice Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood action star who now faces the colossal challenge he asked for: jump-starting California's flagging economy.
Davis, the Democrat who presided over California's economy as it careened from boom to bust, was recalled Tuesday less than a year into his second term. According to partial returns, 54 percent of voters called for his ouster.
Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican with tons of charisma but virtually no political experience, was easily elected among candidates to replace Davis just two months after shocking even his closest aides when he declared his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
The action movie hero may find that the hardest part is yet to come. He will need to quickly assemble an administration and work with a Democrat-controlled Legislature to close a projected $8 billion shortfall for next fiscal year. Schwarzenegger scheduled an afternoon press conference Wednesday to discuss transition.
"We have tough choices ahead," Schwarzenegger said in declaring victory. "The first choice that we must make is the one that will determine our success. Shall we rebuild our state together or shall we fight amongst ourselves, create even deeper divisions and fail the people of California? Well, let me tell you something - the answer is clear. For the people to win, politics as usual must lose."
With 96 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, the recall was favored by 4,012,912 voters or 54.2 percent, and opposed by 3,396,890 voters or 45.8 percent.
Among the replacement candidates, Schwarzenegger was ahead with 3,398,746 votes, or 47.6 percent of the vote; Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante had 2,333,687 votes, or 32.7 percent; Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock had 944,532 votes, or 13.2 percent; and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo had 203,766 votes, or 2.8 percent.
"Tonight, the voters did decide it's time for someone else to serve, and I accept their judgment," said Davis, the widely disliked career public servant who became the first California governor and the second in the nation ever to be recalled.
"I'm calling on everyone... to put the chaos and division of the recall behind us and do what's right for this great state of California," Davis said.
Barring a legal challenge, Schwarzenegger will be sworn in no later than Nov. 16 to serve out the remaining three years of Davis' term. First the vote must be certified, a process that can take more than a month. He would then be up for re-election in 2006.
Schwarzenegger will need to turn in a budget plan by Jan. 10, giving him just a few months to deliver on campaign-trail promises not to raise taxes or cut education spending, which consumes roughly 40 percent of California's budget. Throughout the campaign, Schwarzenegger refused to say what he would cut, but painful program slashing undoubtedly looms.
He also promised to repeal this year's tripling of the state vehicle license fee, although he has not said how he would make up the $4 billion that would cost.
Schwarzenegger must work with Democrats, who are a majority of both houses in the Legislature and hold all statewide offices except his newly-won governorship.
He dismissed the problem on the campaign trail, saying he knew how to work with Democrats because he's married to one - Kennedy relative Maria Shriver. In practice, it's likely to be a thornier issue.
Despite the rancorous recall race, Bustamante and other Democratic officeholders quickly pledged to put partisanship behind them and work with the new governor.
"As I see it, we campaign as partisans but we govern as Californians," said Bustamante, who will remain in office until his current term expires in 2006. "I know how to balance a budget and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work."
Democratic Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson of Los Angeles released a statement saying, "Californians do not want gridlock. They want us to act - without partisan rancor - on the issues that matter most to them. I will work with the new governor to make sure he keeps his promise to women, to our children and to our schools."
Schwarzenegger, 56, prevailed despite a flurry of negative publicity in the campaign's final days, surviving allegations from 16 women that he had groped or touched them in unwanted sexual advances, and accusations that as a young man he spoke admiringly of Adolf Hitler.
He denied the Hitler claims, which also were rebutted by associates, and dismissed some of the groping allegations as lies while apologizing for wrongdoing. "I have behaved badly sometimes," he said.
By the time those charges surfaced, the Schwarzenegger juggernaut could not be stopped, and voters' desire to oust the deeply unpopular Davis was too sharp to curb.
But the recall was more than a message to Davis, said former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who called the result a warning shot to all incumbent officeholders.
"It's a revolt of people who are increasingly angry at the crises that face them, and at the failure of leadership," Panetta said. " If I were a Republican, I wouldn't get too ****y about what happened."
Exit polling showed that many Hispanics and union members - two key groups in Davis' past electoral successes - deserted him as he suffered extraordinarily low job approval ratings amid widespread voter discontent about the state's economy, according to voter surveys conducted for The Associated Press and other news organizations by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Re-elected last year with less than 50 percent of the vote, Davis fell victim to a groundswell of grumbling in a state that has struggled with its perilous financial condition.
In the end, voters snapped back against their leaders, like they did in 1978 in capping property taxes with Proposition 13 and more recently in voting in term limits.
Schwarzenegger's improbable rise to political power played out before a rapt international audience. He campaigned as an outsider, grabbing a broom at a weekend campaign rally to clean up Sacramento and borrowing a line from the movie "Network" to tell charged-up supporters that "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"
The campaign included a parade of bit players among the 135 candidates, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, former child actor Gary Coleman and a porn actress who wanted to tax breast implants. But to many Californians, it was serious business.
"I'm horrified at the thought that Schwarzenegger can be our governor," said Gretchen Purser, 25, of Berkeley, who voted against recall. "I'm sick of Republicans trying to take over the state."
Ed Troupe, 69, of Thousand Oaks, voted yes for recall and for Schwarzenegger. "As far as I'm concerned," he said, "Gray Davis is one of the dirtiest politicians I've ever encountered."
Voters also rejected Proposition 54, a contentious initiative that would have banned state and local governments from tracking race in everything from preschools to police work. Voters across the racial spectrum rejected the measure, according to exit polling. Californians also said no to Proposition 53, which would have set aside up to 3 percent of the state budget every year beginning in 2006 to build and rebuild infrastructure.
10/08/03 07:33 EDT
