Schwarzenegger Files Candidacy Papers
L O S A N G E L E S, Aug. 7 -- — Arnold Schwarzenegger made it official today, filing his candidacy papers in California's gubernatorial recall election and vowing to terminate everything that's ailing the Golden State.
The former Mr. Universe and perpetual action hero kept Californians, Gov. Gray Davis, the Republican Party and national political reporters in suspense all day Wednesday before finally revealing during a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno that he will run for governor in the California recall election.
Today, as hundreds of his fans and potential voters looked on, he arrived at the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office and filed candidacy papers.
"Today is the first step toward bring[ing] the government back to the people," Schwarzenegger said, amid cheers from the crowd. The Austrian-born actor stressed that it was time to put the public's interests ahead of self interests and "bring businesses back to California."
"The first and most important thing that we have to do is we have to overhaul our economic engine in California," he said. "We have to bring back businesses to California and to make sure that everyone in California has a great job.
Schwarzenegger cited the state's $38 billion deficit and an education system that he described as "the last in the country" as some of the reasons motivating him to run. He also spoke out against special interest groups.
"We have to always have public interest first and self-interests as an end," Schwarzenegger continued. "What we have right now in Sacramento is self-interest first — self-interest of the politicians, self-interest of special interest groups — and we have to reverse all that."
Painting himself as both an immigrant and a Hollywood success story, Schwarzenegger asserted that he could not be bought by special interest groups, because he's simply too rich.
"There were times people say it could never be done, that an Austrian farmboy can come over to America and get into the movie business and be successful in the movie business. They said, 'We cannot pronounce your name, you cannot speak English well, and your body's overdeveloped.' And you know what happened? I became the highest-paid entertainer in the world, OK?"
