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Schwarzenegger legacy entwined with fiscal crisis

FILE - This July 1, 2009 shows Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger listening to a question concerning his declaration of a fiscal emergency at a Capitol news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Lawmakers failed to solve the state's whopping $24.3 billion deficit by the start of the new fiscal year. That prevents the Legislature from taking action on anything else until the crisis is resolved. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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Daniel J.B. Mitchell, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, said Schwarzenegger's failure to commit to a clear agenda is one reason he has failed to enact meaningful, long-term fiscal reforms.

"He was elected largely because of a budget crisis under (former Gov.) Gray Davis. So one would think that working on that — priority 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for him would've been dealing with the state budget," Mitchell said.

Instead, from his inauguration through May's special election, Schwarzenegger has turned his attention to an array of policy ideas, many unrelated to the budget, Mitchell said.

Complaints about the governor's revolving policy priorities reached a crescendo last week as negotiations collapsed over California's then-$24 billion budget shortfall.

Every day the state slides deeper into financial freefall increases the likelihood that Schwarzenegger will spend his final year in office overseeing a state in decline, with children losing health coverage, crowded classrooms and shuttered state parks.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said solving the budget crisis should be good enough for Schwarzenegger right now, but it doesn't seem to be.

"We want him to have (a) positive legacy, and that means California begins to turn itself around," Steinberg said. "But you know, you build a legacy over years, not over two weeks or a few days."

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July 04, 2009 08:20 PM EDT

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