Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged support Monday for his government reform package before hundreds of attendees at an Orange County Forum event.
“This is the sequel to the recall,” said Schwarzenegger, in reference to his successful drive to oust former Gov. Gray Davis two years ago.
Schwarzenneger faces tough battles over four initiatives he backs for the Nov. 8 special election. His standing in the polls,34% in the most recent California Field Poll,has almost sunk to Davis’s level before he was recalled.
In the speech before a supportive, largely Republican crowd at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, Schwarzenegger reiterated familiar themes.
These include Proposition 74, designed to change teacher tenure and merit pay; Proposition 75, which would require union employees’ consent over how dues are spent on political issues; Proposition 76, which would impose spending limits to balance the state budget; and Proposition 77, which would take the job of redrawing California’s election boundaries away from state lawmakers.
“Families plan. Businesses plan. But the state of California doesn’t plan,” he said. “For the same people who believe it’s a waste of money to hold special elections, I say it’s a waste of democracy to not hold one.”
Schwarzenegger announced his plan to run for re-election in 2006 more than a week ago.
