Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger made a media-conscious visit to the State Capitol Wednesday, announcing plans to call a special session of the legislature next month and announcing former Chevron lobbyist Patricia Clarey as his new chief of staff, a very key position. He indicated that he intends to use the special session to deal with workers' compensation reform (workers comp insurance expenses for business has gone up significantly) and to try to repeal the law allowing undocumented workers to get drivers licenses.
It seems he struck a confrontational stance:
If lawmakers don't agree with him on the driver's license law, he told them he'd actively support a proposed initiative that would ask voters to repeal the measure. ...
With powerful state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton -- a supporter of the driver's license bill -- sitting next to him, the Republican governor-elect said he had no hesitation about trying to undo legislation the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved with fanfare just weeks ago.
"We are looking at the total picture," Schwarzenegger said. "There's many, many different things that I want to change, that I will propose ... Budgets, to workers' compensation reform, the driver's licenses. There's endless amount of things. This whole package. And we go to work. That's what it's all about."
I'm not sure threatening the Democractic legislature with initiative battles on his first formal visit was the best way to start off. And a statewide vote on immigrants drivers licenses, with the new (immigrant) Governor taking an anti-immigrant position would get the Schwarzenegger administration started on an ugly note.
Clarey, the new chief of staff, worked for the Reagan and Bush I administrations and for former Republican Governor Pete Wilson. Her most recent job was overseeing lobbying activities on behalf of Health Net, a large HMO. Some observers seemed to damn Clarey with faint praise. Some described her as willing to work round the clock, which probably means, "she's an undisciplined workaholic." Democrats described her as "bright and straightforward," which probably means, "she's arrogant and rude." Time will tell.
2 comments:
Watch out, Bruce. You might get Terminated for your opinions!!
That Happy Chica,
Marcia Ellen
Clarey may be more of a Terminator type than Scwarzenegger! One conservative columnist I saw speculated that Clarey likes to play the role of the heavy in coming down on people, and that the new Gov may wind up being the one to sooth people's hurt feelings afterward. - Bruce
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