Arnold's Army

Community Comments

     Such close cooperation between the Republican governor and business advocates has caused Democrats and organized labor to cry foul. They were especially upset because Schwarzenegger and his supporters blamed the need for their alliance on public-employee unions, which the governor and business advocates refer to as “special interests.”    
     Democrats and union leaders say there is a direct correlation between Schwarzenegger’s veto of bills that would re-regulate electricity and raise the minimum wage by $1 – to name just two – and the tens of millions of dollars he raises from businesses to push his agenda.    
     Business leaders and Schwarzenegger administration officials deny this connection.     
     Fox, who worked as a consultant for Schwarzenegger during his run for governor in 2003, says the governor’s philosophy tends to mirror that of the business community’s — in some ways, even more so than previous Republican governors.     
     Corporate CEOs and small-business owners usually believe in keeping taxes low; so does Schwarzenegger. They tend to believe over-regulation hampers business growth and hurts their ability to compete with companies in other states and countries; so does Schwarzenegger.     
     “Clearly, the business world feels it has a business-friendly governor in the corner office, and it sees this as an opportunity to level the playing field,” Fox says.     
     Richard Costigan, Schwarzenegger’s secretary for legislative affairs, says he’s under orders from the governor to have an open-door policy. If any group or individual with legitimate state business wants to meet with Costigan and his six-member team to discuss policy and encourage the administration to support or reject legislation, all it has to do is make an appointment.  

No Quid Pro Quo?
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