LOS ANGELES — On his first full day as governor-elect, Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed confidence that he would make a seamless transition to the governor’s office, but provided no new specifics on how he plans to cure California’s ills.
In a news conference at a Los Angeles hotel, Schwarzenegger repeated themes from the campaign trail, including a pledge to repeal the recent tripling of the car tax and a call to "open up the books" in search of a solution to the state’s gaping deficit. He also promised again not to raise taxes.
"What we have to do is, open up the books … do the audit and find what the waste is," he said.
Schwarzenegger said he was promised "a very smooth transition" by ousted Gov. Gray Davis, and he received similar assurances from other state leaders. He will be sworn into the office by mid-November, becoming California’s 38th governor.
The Republican actor also expressed confidence that California lawmakers would see the message voters delivered in Tuesday night’s election and follow his leadership as he takes over the reins of the state.
"The legislators up there have gotten this message last night, that the people of California want change," he said.
Schwarzenegger said he had spoken with an array of leaders including Nelson Mandela of South Africa and President Bush, who he said promised to do "whatever is possible to help California."
"I’m looking forward to working with him and asking him for a lot, a lot of favors," Schwarzenegger said, adding that he hoped to meet with the president when he Bush visits the state next week for fund-raisers.
Schwarzenegger’s proposals will have to go through a Legislature controlled by Democrats angry over what some of them consider a hostile takeover of the state’s top political job. And he will have to quickly deliver a budget that can close the giant deficit.
Schwarzenegger takes office as the Republican Party’s lone statewide officeholder in a state where the congressional delegation and both houses of the Legislature are heavily Democratic.
Copyright ©2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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