The most unliely governor

Who  would have hought that a champion weight lifter and body builder from Austria would become both a famous actor and the governor of California?

I wasn’t  expecting this when Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to us at the California Chamber of Commerce convention in 2002. Despite his heavy accent, the man who was “Conan the Barbarian” and “Terminator” made a lot of sense. He knew California and the political issues facing it.

Then came the crazy recall election in 2003 to replace the unpopular Gray Davis as governor. Dozens of people ran, including the outspoken Arianna Huffington, “Hustler” publisher Larry Flynt and  Gary Coleman, the 4-foot-8 actor from “Different Strokes.”

Most people thought Schwarzenegger would not actually run. Unfortunately, the deadline for my Kiplinger California Letter was the day before he was going to talk about his plans on a late-night TV show.

When I wrote that he would not run, my boss, Melissa Bristow, asked me, “What if he does run?" I was glad that I hedged the article because he did decide at he last minute to enter the race as a Republican.

I never met the man, but  he was exciting to watch in  person.  Already a celebrity, crowds gathered around him at campaign rallies as he shouted his famous slogan, “I’ll be back!” When he was finally elected, the circulation of my newsletter took a jump, just as it did when another actor, Ronald Reagan, whose campaign I covered briefly, was re-elected to the same job in 1970.

I thought Schwarzeneggar  was a terrific governor.  He pleased my business readers enormously by bringing workers compensation costs down dramatically with new legislation.  Yet he was a fervent environmentalist, trying to bring down greenhouse gases.

Things turned sour before his second term ended in 2011.  California relies heavily on income tax revenue, and the recession left the state in a budget sinkhole.  His approval rating dropped to an awful 23%.

Things got worse for him in 2021, when his marriage with Maria Shriver fell apart after it was disclosed that he had once fathered a son with another woman.

Can you believe it? “The Governator” will be 80 next year!