Arnold’s Back…But Hard to Find

A mural of gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger adorns his Main Street office.
                                                         photo by James Allardice

Kathleen Herd Masser
Special to the Mirror
  
   He said he’d be back, and he is. Arnold Schwarzenegger has returned to his Santa Monica office complex, which is being transformed into campaign headquarters for his run for governor of California.
   The building, on the southern end of Main Street in Santa Monica, also houses the actor’s erstwhile restaurant, Schatzi, and a cigar emporium. Residents and those who work in the area don’t seem phased by this development.
   “We’re used to seeing him – and his Humvee – in the neighborhood,” said a woman who lives nearby.
   The campaign offices have no street-level access, and the uninvited or merely curious are turned away by a friendly but no-nonsense security guard. The mustachioed, Hawaiian-shirted, Bavarian-accented sentry sits in a foyer dominated by a life-sized mural of Arnold as action hero.
   Telephone callers are directed to Schwarzenegger’s campaign website, www.joinarnold.com, which accepts contributions and volunteer sign-up, but offers little in the way of position statements, other than the following quote:
   “California’s political history and traditions were laid down nearly ninety years ago by the progressive reforms of Hiram Johnson. The principles were clear: bipartisanship was cherished, progress was prized over politics and the will of the people was paramount. It was upon these principles that our state was built. California became a beacon for the rest of the nation and the world.
   “But today we are in a different place. There is an enormous disconnect between the people of California and the politicians of California. We the people, are doing our job — working hard, paying our taxes and raising our families. They, the politicians are not doing their job. They fiddle, they fumble, and they fail.
   “It is time to return California to the people.”
   At another sanctioned site, www.arnold4gov.com, supporters can purchase “Hasta La Vista Davis” and “Arnold for Governor” t-shirts for $19.99.
   Reporters are not allowed in the campaign office, and those seeking interviews with the candidate must submit a formal request on-line.
   Schwarzenegger has a lengthy history in the area, including his association with Gold’s Gym. He and his family (wife Maria Shriver and their four children) lived for years in nearby Pacific Palisades and now live in Brentwood. In 2001, he donated a $2 million Santa Monica house to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
   The archdiocese sold the home, in the 300 block of 21st Street, the following year. Proceeds were used to help build the opulent Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
   The candidate chose Santa Monica’s Fairmont Miramar Hotel as the site of the press conference at which he turned over his tax returns for review (but not photocopying) by members of the media.
   If Schwarznegger’s headquarters are a hive of activity, none of the buzz is evident from outside. Late last week, the only sign of life was a harried young man hurrying toward the elevators. When asked how many staff and volunteers were working inside, his only response was, “Not enough.”