Michael Feinstein to Challenge Schwarzenegger in Austria

Kathleen Herd Masser
Mirror Contributing writer
  
   Call him the councilnator?
   At Sunday’s meeting of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, City Councilmember Michael Feinstein announced that he will travel to Austria in early December to issue a challenge to newly elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, using the bodybuilder-turned-action-hero-turned-politico’s hometown of Graz as a backdrop.
   Feinstein feels this distant venue is appropriate for two reasons. “On election night, CNN conducted street interviews [in Graz] with Americans and Austrians. And Schwarzenegger had his campaign office in Santa Monica.”
   The event is being coordinated by the Austrian Green Party and is timed to occur less than a month before Schwarzenegger introduces his budget for the state.
   “During the campaign,” says Feinstein, “Schwarzenegger said he would be a governor for the people. I want to lay out a challenge to him as to what a budget for the people really would be, both statewide and here in Santa Monica. This is a way to call attention in advance to the issues he needs to deal with so they don’t get lost in the media blitz that will accompany the budget’s release.”
   Feinstein plans to question the governor’s commitment to green building guidelines, water and energy efficiency, enforcement of existing laws, and a comprehensive plan for affordable housing.
   These issues, Feinstein says, “are often seen by the development community as being burdensome. I am concerned because of who his backers are and the advisors he has around him. I am afraid that responsible growth will be pushed aside.”
   The media event will take place during a gathering of some 350 Green Party municipal office holders from throughout Eastern and Western Europe. Feinstein was invited by conference sponsors a year and a half ago, to speak about Green Party strategy in the United States.
   The press event, however, is a more recent inspiration. “I was in Luxembourg last week for a meeting with European Greens,” says Feinstein, “and the idea just came to me.”
   “Austrian Greens have issues with Schwarzenegger,” he adds. “We’ll be going for international press coverage.”
   Feinstein has had his own issues recently with the Green Party. It accused him of mishandling party funds, but the District Attorney has declined to file charges.
   As for whether his appearance at the meeting is supported by the Westside Greens, Feinstein says, “I hadn’t even thought about it. My presentation will draw from our platform, including many things from [Green Party Candidate for governor Peter] Camejo’s campaign. But the Greens don’t have an official alternative budget.
   “I’ll be speaking on my own behalf with a background as a Green and as a Santa Monican. It’s better that way.”