Schwarzenegger may run again

CLOVIS, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger all but declared Wednesday that he would run for a second term next year, saying “I am not in this for the short run” and promising an official announcement Friday in San Diego.

Speaking at a special election campaign event in this Central Valley town near Fresno, Schwarzenegger was asked by an audience member if Californians would get “a chance to vote for you again.” It was the last question during a carefully planned “town hall” meeting at a window factory.

The governor paused, smiled briefly and then revealed what he had been hinting for weeks: “I’m going to make an official announcement on Friday, this Friday. I believe very strongly in follow through. Follow-through is the most important thing. If you start something, you’ve got to finish it.”

Coming less than two years after the historic 2003 recall election that brought Schwarzenegger to power, the announcement this week could boost his Nov. 8 special election platform – which includes three initiatives the governor is backing – and signal to financial donors that he intends to be around for another term.

So far, two prominent Democrats have said they also plan to run for governor: controller Steve Westly and state treasurer Phil Angelides, who said he would relish a race against Schwarzenegger because it gives voters “the clearest choice in a generation.”

“At every turn he has favored the corporate special interests over the interests of working families,” Angelides said Wednesday.

Westly said Schwarzenegger has alienated voters through a confrontational and partisan style.

Schwarzenegger has seen his popularity among Californians decline in recent months, after unveiling a large agenda in a confrontational speech before the Legislature. Some of his proposals fell flat – like a plan to overhaul the state pension system.

He has been left with three initiatives that would make it easier to fire low-performing teachers, modify the state budget system and allow an independent panel of judges to draw legislative districts. All three initiatives are failing to get a majority of support from those surveyed in initial polls.

Joel Aberbach, a UCLA political science professor, said that Schwarzenegger’s early announcement of his reelection plans – amid the special election campaign – underscores his weakness.

“If he were really running strong he could wait for a big groundswell of people begging him to run again, and I haven’t seen it,” he said.