| Alone, I cannot lift it 7 million of his fortune to get the measure on the ballot Only Reagan, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, was not present 2 billion to make up for the lost revenue
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Although he had no experience as an elected official, the Republican was swept into office in the Oct The session could begin as early as Tuesday
Schwarzenegger faces a budget deficit that he put at more than $24 billion; a business climate that some economists say is the nation's worst; and a Democrat-dominated Legislature that may not be in a cooperative mood He will have a residence in Sacramento, but his family is not expected to move from Los Angeles California is like that, too
The ceremony was devoid of much of the usual inaugural pageantry Gray Davis, reviled by the voters for his handling of the state's sickly economy
He promptly made good on at least one campaign promise: He repealed the tripling of California's car registration tax, which means the state must find an additional $4 He has also promised a balanced budget that does not include any new taxes or significant cuts in education and local governments
Schwarzenegger won with 48 percent of the vote over a list of 134 other candidates vying to replace Davis, who was bounced by 55 percent of the voters
Nevertheless, the inauguration had 7,500 invited guests, in addition to several thousand people watching from the street, and drew such celebrities as Dennis Miller, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny DeVito, Rob Lowe and Vanessa Williams, who sang the national anthem
The recall movement was launched in February by activists angered over the state's budget woes and the prospect of higher taxes Bitterness over the recall vote and the state's financial troubles prompted Schwarzenegger to push for a more low-key ceremony Gov "
As he was sworn in, Schwarzenegger was accompanied by four of the five living former governors of California, including Davis
The governor of California is paid $175,000 a year, but Schwarzenegger, who has made millions on his action flicks, has not said whether he would accept it
Nov 17, 5:25 PM EST
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who arrived in the United States 35 years ago as a bodybuilder dreaming of fame and fortune, was sworn in Monday as governor of California and said he was ready to take on the "massive weight we must lift off our state Schwarzenegger admitted he had "behaved badly sometimes," but with Shriver a fixture at his side, he quickly recovered "
"Perhaps some think this is fanciful or poetic, but to an immigrant like me â€â€? who, as a boy, saw Soviet tanks rolling through the streets of Austria â€â€? to someone like me who came here with absolutely nothing and gained absolutely everything, it is not fanciful to see this state as a golden dream," Schwarzenegger said in becoming California's 38th governor Darrell Issa bankrolled the effort, spending $1
In the days before the election, the Los Angeles Times published allegations that Schwarzenegger had groped several women over the past 30 years
Schwarzenegger said he would also summon the Legislature into special session to address the budget and further reform the workers' compensation system Schwarzenegger Sworn in As Calif Hundreds of journalists from around the globe covered the event, some from Japan, France and Schwarzenegger's native Austria "What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know But together, we can," he said
An immigrant from Austria who arrived in the United States at age 21 barely able to speak English, Schwarzenegger is now the leader of the nation's most populous state and the world's sixth-biggest economy
7 election that ousted Democratic Gov "
With his wife, Maria Shriver, holding a 192-year-old Kennedy family Bible, Schwarzenegger took the oath of office from California's chief justice on the steps of the state Capitol
The "Terminator" star cast himself as an outsider and claimed to be beholden to no special interests, even though he, too, accepted large campaign contributions from developers and major business interests
He promised to put the state's finances in order, and added: "I will not rest until California is a competitive, job-creating machine
"There's a massive weight we must lift off our state
The 56-year-old Hollywood action hero then gave a 12-minute speech in which he invoked Presidents Kennedy and Reagan and called himself, like JFK, "an idealist without illusions
"I learned something from all those years of training and competing," he said GOP Rep |