ARNOLD'S CELEBRITY WAITER

For the first time since becoming governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday conducted a day-long series of small-group interviews with newspaper reporters who cover the Capitol. There wasn't much news to be had � although the San Francisco Chronicle, pursuing the mostly dormant story of Schwarzenegger's alleged history of groping and otherwise mistreating women � did elicit the revelation that the governor voluntarily participated in sexual harassment awareness training one day in January that was mandatory for the rest of his staff.

Beyond that, Schwarzenegger offered only hints of things to come � saying he was "very close" to reaching a revenue-sharing agreement with Indian gaming tribes that would yield a "shocking" amount of revenue for the state, promising that there will be action in the fall on an energy policy designed to restructure electricity markets, and waxing vague about whether he might or might not ask for a tax increase and whether he will or will not do much heavy lifting in the fall on behalf of President Bush's re-election campaign.

Schwarzenegger has demonstrated that everything he does publicly is for a purpose, so for those watching for a not-so-subtle agenda, there was this:

Well into crunch time in negotiations with legislative leaders over workers' compensation reform, there are signs that legislative Republicans � who see potential political gain in having an initiative on the issue on the ballot in November � are trying to hold up a potential deal. They are clearly concerned that Schwarzenegger will cut his own deal with Democratic leaders, a situation that would put them in an awkward situation since they would not want to be seen as roadblocks to a Republican governor's negotiated deal.

Throughout the interview sessions, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, the Legislature's top Democrat, wandered in and out of the governor's office, making his presence very visible to the press. During the session I attended, Burton, wearing a cream-colored Polynesian shirt and white slacks, came out to the governor's cigar-smoking tent in the courtyard and delivered Schwarzenegger a demitasse of espresso.

"Danke, mein Freund," Schwarzenegger replied in German. "Thank you, my friend."

Republican lawmakers reading about the interview sessions surely must have seen the message: Burton and Schwarzenegger are engaged, getting along and moving forward, so if they want to be part of the deal, it's time to negotiate rather than obstruct.

NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T

On Monday, Republican Assemblyman Keith Richman, co-author of one of the leading proposals to restructure the process for buying and selling electricity in California in the aftermath of the crisis of 2001, was vice chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee. On Tuesday, he was off the committee entirely.

The move has raised eyebrows in the Capitol, evoking suspicions that it was made to help smooth the way for passage of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez' competing bill, strongly backed by Southern California Edison. Among the main differences: Richman's proposal would pave the way for a return to direct-access purchasing of electrical power, a process through which large industrial users would be freed to break away from Edison and other utilities and contract directly with generators or brokers to purchase their power; Nunez' bill would at the very least forestall the day when direct access, scuttled during the power crisis, would again become an option for large users. Edison, naturally, would like to keep its monopoly on selling electricity to large users.

So, was Richman dumped because he could have become an inconvenient obstruction to the speaker's electricity bill?

Not at all, says Nunez spokesman Gabriel Sanchez. Rather, the move was a routine part of the speaker's systematic goal to reduce the size of many of the Assembly's large and unwieldy committees. Although sources said Richman privately fumed over being removed from the committee, Sanchez said he shouldn't take it personally. Virtually every member had to give up at least one committee assignment, and it was inevitable that someone would feel slighted, Sanchez told me.

"It's like trying to pick ice cream flavors for 80 people," he said. "Someone's sure to be upset if they get vanilla."

Richman did retain his positions on the Health and Insurance committees � logical places for one of the Legislature's two medical doctors to serve.

Still, Richman's removal from Utilities and Commerce does provide grist for those who suspect a conspiracy. He was one of three Republicans removed from the committee. At the same time, two new Republicans were placed on the panel. Subtracting three and adding two does result in a smaller committee, Nunez' stated goal. But why the need to substitute two different members in the process? Here's one possible reason: One of the new Republican members is Russ Bogh of San Bernardino � a former regional manager for Southern California Edison.

GOOD COP, BAD COP IS THE SAME GUY

A classic negotiating ploy is to have two parties on the same side assume contradictory roles � one cooperative, the other combative. For the second time in his governorship, Arnold Schwarzenegger is engaged in high-stakes negotiations with the Democratic legislative leadership, and for the second time he is simultaneously playing both roles.

One day, Schwarzenegger is negotiating with Democrats over the details of workers' compensation reform legislation, the next he is pouring $1 million from his special political account into an initiative campaign that would take lawmakers out of the equation and put the issue directly to voters. Yesterday, Press Secretary Margita Thompson was giving reporters an upbeat report that negotiations were progressing; today, Schwarzenegger staged a rally at a suburban Sacramento Costco to help gather signatures for the initiative petition.

The tactic certainly keeps legislative leaders guessing and allows Schwarzenegger to continually negotiate from a position of strength.

Democrats, perhaps having learned a trick or two from their last go-round with the new governor, have added their own twist. Late last week, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez made a point of publicly stating that the only issue holding back an agreement was finding a way to ensure that any savings that result from the reforms are passed along to California businesses in the form of lower insurance rates. Nunez' message: We're not going to make it more difficult for workers to be compensated for on-the-job injuries just so insurance companies can line their pockets with higher profits.

The issue clearly scored some points. Schwarzenegger's political advisers announced his committee would no longer accept contributions from insurance companies � although, already having accepted $100,000 from the state's largest private workers' compensation carrier, the governor cannot claim uncorrupted innocence as he continues to resist suggestions that insurance rate regulation be included in the reform package.

Legislative sources say Nunez has decided to bring a comprehensive workers' compensation reform bill to a vote on the Assembly floor, even if Democratic leaders and Schwarzenegger are unable to sign off on a deal. If that bill includes most of what's included in the initiative � such items as stricter definitions of what constitutes an injury, limits on what doctors can be selected by injured workers and arbitration procedures that would reduce the role of attorneys � and also insurance rate regulation, the package could put Schwarzenegger in a bind by creating a powerful argument that could be used against an initiative in the fall.

If opponents could argue that Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that had many of the same provisions as the initiative but also included a guarantee that insurance companies wouldn't pocket the savings, the governor could painted as a shill for the insurance industry.

In Capitol negotiations these days, there are good cops and bad cops all around.

WILL IT BE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, OR HARVARD?

Although she was unanimously confirmed this month by the Senate, state Finance Director Donna Arduin still has critics among lawmakers, many of whom feel she just doesn't understand some fundamental truths about California. Arduin was brought in by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from Florida, where she held a similar job under Gov. Jeb Bush.

One thing Arduin doesn't get, some critics say, is that the top level of California's higher education system is qualitatively different from most other states. They cite her suggestion that the University of California redirect 10 percent of new admissions to community colleges � delaying arrival at a UC campus in exchange for free community college tuition for two years � as an example of that alleged blind spot.

At last week's meeting, University of California Regent Velma Montoya asked an administrator how UC would select which students would receive a suggestion that they redirect their immediate attention to a community college. She was told that such letters would go out to UC-eligible students who were denied admission to a specific UC campus. At campuses such as Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, rejected students are often kids with 4.0 high school grade-point averages and 1300-plus SAT scores � in other words, students who are aggressively recruited by universities across the nation that are eager to attract California's best and brightest high school grads.

Montoya did not think it likely such students would choose to start out at community college if they were rejected at Berkeley, rated the No. 1 public university in the United States. "These are kids who will go to Stanford or Columbia instead," she said.

A SITUATION WHERE BELOW THE RADAR IS GOOD

Advocates for the mentally ill often complain, legitimately, that their issue too often slips under the radar when the Legislature decides on spending priorities. They argue that mental health services have been the victim of 30 years of neglect, as the state never stepped forward to provide the level of community-based mental health services that were intended to replace the state mental hospitals that were closed.

Now, however, these same advocates perhaps stand to gain from being under the radar. This morning they turned in more than 643,000 signatures to place on the November ballot an initiative that would create a 1 percent income-tax surcharge on any taxable income an individual earns in excess of $1 million. The measure would generate an estimated $600 million a year to expand services to the mentally ill -- a step that advocates say would have a noticeable effect on reducing the number of homeless adults on California's streets.

Given that the fall ballot is likely to be crowded with controversial initiatives � one that would create higher property tax assessments for businesses, another that attempts to negate a state law requiring large- and mid-sized businesses to provide group health insurance to workers, perhaps two having to do with gambling, perhaps a high-profile measure designed to reform workers' compensation � the mental health measure might escape the kind of opposition it might otherwise expect.

Business groups will be focused on the health-care mandate and potentially workers' compensation reform. Taxpayer groups will target the split-roll property tax. Who will be left to fight a proposed surcharge on millionaires?

Impressively, mental health advocates collected 100,000 signatures through the work of volunteers. Backers spent close to $1 million on paid signature-gatherers to come up with the rest.

Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg of Sacamento, one of the initiative's sponsors, said most Californians understand the issue � that is, they recognize that the number of homeless they see on the street is partly a consequence of the state never delivering on its promise to fund community-based mental health services. Pilot programs sponsored by
Steinberg legislation have had measurable success with the homeless in a number of counties, resulting in declines of more than 60 percent in hospitalization and incarceration. "Mental illness," Steinberg said, "does not have to be the ticket to an unproductive life."

As for the proposed tax on million-dollar income earners, Steinberg notes that as a result of federal tax cuts for the wealthy, they will have a net decline in their tax liability even if the initiative passes. "It is a tax," he said, "that we should all aspire to having to pay."

SCULPTED PROTEST ART

Perhaps the most compelling protesters at today's community college rally at the California Capitol were the ones that weren't breathing. They were the "missing student" statues created to represent the estimated 175,000 students not attending community colleges this year as a result of budget cuts and tuition increases implemented last year.

The statue from the Ventura County Community College District was there -- a male mannequin marked with the kind of stenciled lettering generally associated with cuts of meat marked on livestock. Among the labels on the mannequin: "poverty," "single parents," "waitresses" and "food stamps." Other mannequins were similarly outfitted in protest attire, including one that had been speared by a giant screw.

College students, the rally proved, haven't lost their particular talent for creative protesting.

AND GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN?

The strong showing of Deputy District Attorney Jeff Gorell in the 37th Assembly District Republican primary, in which he finished a close second despite being outspent by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 by each of two opponents, has raised an obvious question among politics-watchers in Ventura County: What next for Gorell?

I put that question to him and received a thoughtful answer � one that ought to enlighten anyone who may believe that running for political office is a kind of glorified ego trip. It can be that, but it can also be a lot of hard work and personal sacrifice.

Will you run for office again, Jeff?

"I'm going to have to consider that very seriously. It means taking a year or more out of your life and putting your career path on hold. It drains your finances and puts your social life on hold... When I came back from Afghanistan (he served there with U.S. military forces) I didn't anticipate running. I was looking for a house. I took all the money I had put aside for investing in a house and put it into the campaign. I've got no regrets � I got to participate in democracy, after having just come back from the Middle East where they can't even conceptualize it. But will I run again? There's nothing on the horizon that piques my interest."

READING THE RESULTS THROUGH DIFFERENT GLASSES

About 300 college students, largely from Southern California, were at the state Capitol on Monday where they heard a variety of presentations on politics and public policy, including a session of post-election analyses from a panel assembled by Moorpark College Political Science Professor Jack Miller. As with most of these things, perceptions of what happened on the field last Tuesday depended in large part on where you were perched to watch from the stands.

Joel Fox, the former Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association president who served as a key policy adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign last year, saw the overwhelming passage of Proposition 57 as a huge victory for the governor, one that will boost his power over legislators, who must now quake at the prospect of his going over their heads by taking issues to the ballot. It should be noted that Fox is the lead proponent of a workers' compensation reform initiative that Schwarzenegger has said he will try to sell to voters next fall if he cannot reach a legislative solution very quickly with the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The key question now, Fox said, is "whether the Legislature will seize the moment to accomplish some things and keep them off the ballot."

Darry Sragow, chief political consultant to the Assembly Democratic Caucus, had a very different take. "Proposition 57 won," he said, "because Democrats supported it." He noted that Democratic Controller Steve Westly was co-chairman of the committee to pass the ballot measure, that the Democratic Party endorsed it and that Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein was recruited to do television commercials on behalf of the measure in the campaign's final days after polls showed that support remained weak in Feinstein's home turf in the San Francisco Bay Area.

All in all, there was a good deal of agreement that what voters want is for the governor and their lawmakers to work together on a bipartisan basis to solve problems. However, one panelist � yours truly � said that was a lot of bunk, at least as far as primary election voters are concerned.

Voters in closed-party primaries, I noted, are by and large intensely partisan voters. By definition, they don't like bipartisanship. One example: In the 37th Assembly District Republican primary, the two candidates who opposed Schwarzenegger's Proposition 57 received more than 65 percent of the vote. The one major candidate who supported the measure, Jeff Gorell, lost. In a number of party primaries in legislative districts around the state, the candidates who promoted themselves as dogmatic, partisan warriors defeated opponents who portrayed themselves as bipartisan problem solvers. The only solution in sight that might connect the overwhelming consensus of centrist voters with the political process that selects who will represent them is for an initiative to reinstate an open primary in California to qualify for the November ballot and for voters to then pass it.

The best comment from the panel came from Loyola Maramount Political Science Professor Fernando Guerra, one of the state's most respected analysts of Latino politics. Guerra noted that he had been invited to sit on another panel even though he had predicted that the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis would never qualify for the ballot, that Schwarzenegger would not run, and that if he did he would lose. "I keep being wrong, but people are still asking me for my opinion," he said.

One noteworthy observation from Guerra: The narrow success of Proposition 55, the $12.3 billion school bond on last week's ballot, was entirely the result of its support among minority voters who have the greatest stake in the public school system. "Had only whites voted, it would have lost," Guerra said. "Latino voters were much more optimistic about the future."

A night at the Gridiron

A guest entry from Ventura County Star Editor and President Tim Gallagher.

WASHINGTON -- It would help if they passed out Vaseline at the door of the Gridiron Show. Beauty pageant contestants ease the pain caused by non-stop smiling by smearing Vaseline on their teeth. When you attend the Gridiron Show put on by the Washington Press Club, you are going to smile and laugh so hard, your lips and cheeks will hurt by the end of the night.

I was fortunate to be invited to the 119th incarnation of this four-hour show Saturday night. The skits are interrupted only by a five-course gourmet meal. (How gourmet? Well, Kobe beef is served as an appetizer atop custard. Don�t knock it until you try it.)

Now I can�t tell you about the skits because the entire evening is "off the record." How you can be "off the record" with a roomful of politicians and journalists is truly one of the world�s great mysteries, but everyone seems to honor the code of silence and I will not be the one to break it. Sufficed to say that no one is safe. The likely targets � including politicians and famous members of the media � spend the day soaking in pickle brine because they need a thick skin to survive the night.

Favorite targets included the president and his intellect, the president and his "intelligence," duck hunting trips by Vice President Dick Cheney (in attendance) and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (not in attendance), and the presidential aspirations of Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, and Rudy Guiliani.

President George W. Bush did not attend the show because he was meeting in Texas with Mexican President Vicente Fox. That was the reason given. The popular rumor is that he skipped the show in order to snub Al Hunt, Press Club president this year. As Washington bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, Hunt is a frequent critic of President Bush and did not care much for his father either. Come to think of it, Hunt might be the only WSJ critic of the White House.

The members of the press club take turns roasting Democrats and Republicans in popular songs, with the lyrics changed to fit the moment. (OK, one small off-the-record moment. A Dick Cheney lookalie in hunting gear singing "Scalia, I just went duck hunting with Scalia" to the tune of "Maria" from "West Side Story.")

The roof nearly fell in when Dean appeared in one skit as himself and closed the song by recreating the scream he made famous after his loss in the Iowa primary. Dean appears to be a good sport about the whole thing. He sat directly across from me for most of the evening and howled at the jokes focused on his riches-to-rags campaign story.

During a break in the show, I was walking behind New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger and Times columnist Maureen Dowd . Cheney is one of the tart-tongued Dowd's favorite targets. I remarked to Sulzberger that he ought to be careful because at that moment, he was in between Cheney and Dowd and I was not sure if Cheney still carried his duck-hunting rifles. Dowd nodded and laughed and Sulzberger quickly replied that he could not think of anyone he'd rather be with than Dowd if shots were fired.

The politicians get even with a response by each party. Sen. Clinton spoke for the Democrats and Mayor Guiliani for the Republicans. As they are widely rumored to be presidential contenders in 2008, they skewered each other as well as their parties.

Vice President Cheney got the final word in with his own press conference � both asking and answering the questions about duck hunting, WMDs and his health.

He closed with another of the night�s many tributes to American servicemen and women. For me, the night�s throat-choking moment came when the U.S. Marine Corps band played a medley of "theme" songs from our branches of the military and audience members who had served in that branch stood and were recognized.

On Sunday morning I took a walk with my friend, John Temple, editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. He remarked that the Gridiron Show is the epitome of a civilized society. It is one in which we can have serious disagreements about policies, but still get together for socialization and humor.

I agree and I�d add a final thought. Compare the United State of America to, let�s say, Haiti. In this country, we solve our differences through compromise and election because we share a common belief and set of values. In too many nations, there is no hope of such a decision. The only method of changing the government is violent overthrow.

The Gridiron Show reminds us that we can solve our differences through debate and not violence.

WHY I DON'T DO RADIO

After speaking to a meeting of the Camarillo Democratic Club on Thursday evening, and at one point finding myself a little flummoxed by a question that asked what rational reason leading state Democrats had for backing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion bond on Tuesday's ballot, I talked with some members of the audience, including the charming, if feisty, woman who had raised that question.

"I love your column," she complimented. "I read it every week. You are a very good writer, but like many people who have a talent for writing, you are a lousy speaker. You nearly bored us to death."

This explains why I use a keyboard, not a microphone...

COMING UP, A REPORT FROM WASHINGTON'S BIG EVENT...

Ventura County Star Editor Tim Gallagher will be attending this weekend's annual Gridiron dinner in Washington, D.C. It is a black-tie, celebrity-studded affair at which the nation's political and media elite mingle and roast each other.

At my invitation, Gallagher has agreed to post a guest web log entry here at "Politics Here and There" to give us an insider's glimpse of the event. Watch for his report here on Sunday....

A STIFF UPPER LIP

Perhaps no one was put in a more difficult spot as a result of the intraparty battle between conservative Republicans in the 37th Assembly District than Thousand Oaks Sen. Tom McClintock. Running against each other were Mike Robinson, a young man whose introduction to politics had come through doing volunteer work for McClintock and who had become a loyal employee and political disciple of the senator; and Audra Strickland, wife of former McClintock aide Tony Strickland, who had gone on to win election to Assembly and become McClintock's ideological soulmate in the Legislature. During last fall's recall election, Strickland was one of just a handful of GOP elected officials who resisted the pressure to fall in line behind Arnold Schwarzenegger and instead remained loyal to the end to McClintock and his quest to become governor.

McClintock's response to the situation was to lend his name to both candidates � and both used his name prominently as they sought to lend credibility to their campaigns. Robinson mentioned McClintock at every opportunity, and featured pictures of him with his boss on his Web site and in numerous campaign mailers. Strickland volunteers say that mentioning McClintock's endorsement was their ace in the hole while walking precincts � his name literally opened doors.

But a source with the Strickland campaign said that from the outset there was an understanding about McClintock's dual endorsement: In an attempt to enforce what Ronald Reagan famously called "the 11th Commandment" � thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican � McClintock said that he would withdraw his endorsement from whichever candidate first decided to attack the other.

When Robinson's mail piece attacking Strickland on illegal immigration, based on three votes Tony Strickland had cast in the Assembly, hit mailboxes, the Strickland camp immediately asked McClintock to carry out his threat to enforce party discipline. McClintock demurred, the source said, and in fact Robinson stepped up his efforts to associate himself with McClintock during the campaign's closing days.

In the end, Strickland prevailed, although the attacks by Robinson clearly blunted her momentum and nearly cost her the election. The third candidate in the race, Deputy District Jeff Gorell, actually beat her on election day; she won because of a big advantage in absentee ballots � a large percentage of which had already been cast before the Robinson charges began to fly.

Asked late Tuesday whether there may be any hard feelings or fences to mend with McClintock in the wake of his decision to ignore his aide's attacks on her, Audra Strickland gave only a stoic and politic response: "I was proud to have his endorsement."

DISAPPEARING VENTURA COUNTY
DEMOCRATS

The political description of Ventura County during the
late 1990s � "trending Democratic" � has been buried
after the first few years of the 21st century. Voter
registration figures in advance of today's election
show that Republicans have increased their dominance
among registered voters over the last two years �
making relative gains in each of the county's 10
cities.

Just before the 1998 gubernatorial election, Democrats
had come within 2.3 percentage points of
Republicans among registred voters in the county.
Since then, Republicans have almost doubled their lead
and now enjoy a 4.5 percentage-point gap.

Republicans now account for 42.3 percent of county
voters, up from 41.3 two years ago, while Democrats
have fallen to 37.8 percent, down from 38.9 in 2002.
Because the voter rolls are purged after each
gubernatorial election, the number of registered
voters in each party has declined, but while the
Republican total fell by only about 5,000, the number
of registered Democrats plummeted by more than 12,000.

In those cities in which Republicans outnumbered
Democrats, the gap widened. In those cities in which
Democrats held an edge, the gap narrowed. The biggest
change was in Democrat-dominated Oxnard, in which a 27
percentage point edge was narrowed to 23 points.

Camarillo retained its distinction as the most
Republican of county cities, with 49.5 percent of
registered voters in the GOP. It was followed by Simi
Valley (49.2 percent), Thousand Oaks (48.9 percent)
and Moorpark (47.2 percent).

Keep an eye on Ventura, long the most partisan city in the county. The political tilt could soon
be shifting. Democratic voters now outnumber
Republicans in Ventura by just 536 � 22,756 to 22,420.

In Ventura County, as everywhere else in California,
decline-to-state voters continue to increase as a
percentage of the whole. In two years,
decline-to-states in the county went from 14.3 percent
of the total to 15.0 percent.

FINISHING WITH A FLURRY

Campaign fund-raising in Ventura County's 37th Assembly District Republican primary � the most expensive Assembly primary in the state � has now topped $1.5 million as all three major candidates are wrapping up the race with an impressive collection of contribution checks.

Somewhat surprisingly, the campaign has not attracted the barrage of late independent expenditures some had anticipated. Independent expenditures, unlike direct contributions to the candidates, are unlimited.
Only three groups have weighed in with independent efforts: the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the prison guards union, kicked in with a $22,000 mailer backing Audra Strickland, wife of incumbent Assemblyman Tony Strickland.
The California Credit Union League PAC also spent $11,750 in phone calls and polling on Strickland's behalf.
The only other independent expenditure � a slate mailer � was made by the California Peace Officers Research Association, a coalition of law enforcement unions, on behalf of Deputy District Attorney Jeff Gorell. Its value was $6,000.

Here are the final fund-raising figures for the top three candidates: Mike Robinson, $738,442, including $600,000 from himself; Strickland, $566,669; Gorell, $245,611.

As has been the case throughout the campaign, special interests in Sacramento have shown a particular interest in Strickland during the closing days. She has taken in $48,400 in late contributions just since Valentine's Day. Here are some of the largest contributors in that group of last-minute givers: Morango Band of Mission Indians, $3,000; California Bankers Assn., $2,000; Gun Owners of America, $2,000; Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, $1,500; California-Nevada Soft Drink Assn., $1,000; HealthNet, $1,000; Hertz Corp., $1,000; Pacific Gas & Electric, $1,000; Miller Brewing Co., $1,000.