Governor's Remarks at YMCA 59th Model Legislature and Court

GOVERNOR: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I really appreciate that nice reception, very nice. And thank you very much, Ian, for the nice introduction. I mean, what a voice Ian Bruce has, huh? Can you believe that? What a voice. I know he’s going to go into acting. Thank you very much, and thank you all for being here today, and for having me.

Whenever I get asked by a group like this, by young adults, by an organization like the YMCA Youth Government Organization to speak, I immediately say yes. And I think that it is because I was inspired by so many people in my life, and I wouldn’t be here today, where I am, if I wouldn’t have had so many people inspiring me that I was able to listen to and look up to. And so this is why I always felt like young people are very important, and especially you, that are so interested in public service, to come and to speak to you.

I decided to take my written and prepared notes and leave them behind, because I felt like it would be much better to just talk a little bit off the cuff and then answer some of your questions, because so many times we stand up here and we talk for 20 minutes, and sometimes 15 minutes out of those 20 minutes is things that you don’t want to hear. There are specific things and questions that you may have, so this is why I thought that maybe I would just make some opening remarks, and then just go and answer your questions, if this is okay with you. And I think that that gives you a chance to just come up and ask any question. And I really don’t care what the question is, may I remind you, so you don’t have to be limited to just government questions or anything else, you can ask anything that you want to ask.

But first of all, let me just say that I think that it is very important to recognize that when you are at your age, to know that you can do anything that you want in the world, and you can make tremendous changes in the world, and you can make a tremendous impact on the world. And I have seen this, and I think it is very important that you get inspired to do that, and to always be reminded, and to send you in the right direction.

Because when I was a kid in Austria, the reason why I was motivated to get out of Austria and to come over here to America, and the reason why I was motivated to become a bodybuilding champion, was because I was inspired by a gentleman by the name of Reg Park who was then the Mr. Universe, and he was then getting into movies and doing Hercules movies. And I felt like this is something that I should try to do, and started training religiously, for four hours a day, and followed his program. And sure enough, at the age of 20, I became the youngest Mr. Universe ever. And then I was inspired—(Applause)

And of course those things are not easy. You know, it takes a lot of work. I worked out, like I said, four hours a day, and you have to diet and you have to do your running and lifting 50 tons of weights every day, and you have to make certain sacrifices and so on. But it was because of that Reg Park that I did that.

But then later on I was inspired by other people to get me over here to the United States. And I remember there was a gentleman by the name of Joe Weider, who was the publisher of the Muscle and Fitness magazines, and he was like the biggest publisher of those magazines all over the world. And he kept writing me inspirational letters and saying, "You’re the greatest, you’re going to make big changes in our sport, I have great hope for you, that if you’re ready I’ll send you the airline ticket to come to America." And I came over to America, competing here, and started getting involved in his magazine and writing articles and so on. And when I came over here, of course at that point in bodybuilding there was no money to be made, and so I started working in other jobs, started going to college to educate myself and so on.

But then it was Clint Eastwood that I met and inspired me to get into acting. And again, because of that great inspiration—he was a great actor, but he was also a director, a great producer. He had everything going for himself. And as you know, even now, he still is one of the top, if not the top, entertainer in the world, and is up for an Academy Award for his movie.

So I think that it is very important always to have people like that, that inspire you. And later on, when I got into acting, I was inspired when I met my wife Maria Shriver. I was inspired by her parents, because her father, Maria’s father, Sargent Shriver, started the Peace Corps, and started the Job Corps, Legal Aid to the Poor and all kinds of interesting programs. And I started for the first time hearing about public service, and how important it is to give something back to your community.

And so I started going in that direction, and started working with Special Olympics and started working with After School Programs and with inspiring kids and going around all over the United States. I was the Chairman of the President’s Council on Fitness, and I was doing all kinds of things, again because I was inspired by her father, by Maria’s father, and by Maria’s mother, who started Special Olympics, which of course in 1968 everyone said it will never happen, you shouldn’t let out people with mental disabilities from the institutions and so on. Well, today the organization in 164 countries, it is one of the most successful organizations all over the world.

So that’s the kind of impact that you can make, so I was always inspired by someone that motivated me to go in a certain direction, and it was that kind of motivation that got me eventually involved in running for governor, which was the greatest decision—well, I should say one of the greatest decisions that I have made, because the greatest decision was for me to marry my wife Maria, of course, because otherwise I wouldn’t have this great family. (Applause)

So running for governor, and then becoming governor, and then being able to make those changes that you want to make, and reach out and work—I get paid, may I remind you, I return my salary, I don’t get paid anything to do this job. And the simple reason is because I have made plenty of money, I have made my millions, and I recognize the fact that I would have never made that money, and I would have never had that career, if I wouldn’t have come to America. I mean, you are right now here in the greatest state in the United States, and you are the greatest country in the world. (Applause)

And because of that, I was able to do all those things, to be successful, and now it’s time for me to give something back. And I think that it’s very clear that there are so many people in the world that have reached out and that have given something back, and that have made a tremendous impact also on our world. And I think this is what this is all about. We should not go about in our life and just think that we should just get another job and just do your thing and not think about that. I think each and every one in here should think about how can I make an impact on the world? How can I make an impact in my community, in my state? How can make an impact on my country? And it is our obligation, it is our duty to do that; not just to receive but to give something back.

I always felt very strongly about that, and I was inspired by a lot of people, if it is Mikhail Gorbachev, who dismantled communism in 1991 and took that world threat away from us, or Nelson Mandela, who has shown us about forgiveness, who has been in prison and was 27 years in prison, imprisoned by white people. And then the first thing he did when he came out of prison was to have lunch with the wife of the prosecutor, of the white prosecutor that put him in jail for 27 years. I mean, those are the kinds of things, those are people that inspire me. Or Rosa Parks, who in 1955, for instance, refused to get up for a white man in a bus, and then created this unbelievable debate in the United States about equal rights and equal opportunities. (Applause)

Or Mohammed Ali, that we all know as being the greatest fighter in history. But I got to know Mohammed Ali, and I think he is very well known for other things, more so than for his fighting, which is his generosity. That guy used to go, when he made millions and millions of dollars fighting, he would go through the airport and hand out 100 dollar bills to people that were poor or homeless. He would just walk up and give them money, he was very generous. He never thought about the money for himself, he always thought about giving this money away and giving it for someone that needs that money, because be felt he doesn’t need it, because he is taken care of. He’s the greatest fighter, he gets all the money in the world; let’s share some of that money. So he became a great inspiration to me.

So there are many people, and each and every one of you needs to have people that inspire, because those are the people that will suck you along, that will get you into those kind of different things, to give back to the community and to give something back to your country. And that is, I think, what this is all about.

So I just wanted you to know that I am a living proof of someone that comes from a little town in Austria and can go all the way with his career and with his personal life. I have a wonderful and the most fantastic personal life, and also a great life and career, and I’m a very happy camper, may I remind you, always enthusiastic about all of those things, because I’m in the greatest place in the world.

So with that, I want to hand it over to you, and have you ask me some questions. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause)

MODERATOR: So are there any questions for the Governor at this time? Oh, the names of the people that are supposed to question the Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger: Jonathan Guy, Palo Alto; Sam McAdam, Santa Anita; Alison Tanner, Central SCV; Nick Petterides, SRV/Valle Lobo; and Taylor Cuning, SPPY/San Pedro.

GOVERNOR: Please.

Q: I’m Jonathan Guy from Palo Alto Family Y. Considering that special interest groups’ campaign donations have negatively influenced elections, how would you remedy this?

GOVERNOR: I think that the most important thing is that we always have to recognize special interest groups will be out there, because there are various different groups that fight for themselves, and they try to bend policy for themselves and so on, they hire lobbyists and so on. I think the important thing is that we never go and give favors back for monies that we get for our campaigns. If someone puts money into your campaign, you should never go and say, "I’m going to do that personal favor back," because that is what is wrong with government today, and has been for a long time.

This is why I try to pass laws here where we say no fundraising from the time I, for instance, introduce the budget in California, to the time we pass the budget here in this state. I think it’s very important that we limit the amount of fundraising activities, especially not to do any fundraising during the times when we make very important decisions.

Q: All right. Thank you very much.

GOVERNOR: Thank you.

Q: Good afternoon. My name is Alison Tanner, I’m from Central SCV. And I would like to ask you, what are your administration’s plans to combat the fact that the diversity in California universities does not reflect the diversity of California’s population?

GOVERNOR: I think it is extremely important that we work always to give everyone a chance to get into education, if it is to get a great high school diploma and pass the exit exam, which is a very big challenge in California right now, because there is a huge percentage of kids that are failing the high school exam. We have a huge amount of kids that are dropping out of high school because we are not giving them the opportunities and don’t inspire them enough. This is why we are offering also career-tech education, because there are many kids that don’t want to go on to a four-year college, they want to go and learn a certain profession, a career-tech education, get career-tech education. So we have to inspire kids to stay in education, and then give them the opportunity if they want to go in the direction of career-tech education, or if they want to go to a university, to give them the possibility and the financial help, and also the outreach program, so that everyone can participate.

And I was very encouraged just recently when I heard from UCLA that the amount of students, of minority students, has been going up drastically, and I was very happy about seeing that. But we need to do much more in that direction. Everyone ought to have the opportunity to have equal education and to have equal opportunities. That’s what this country is all about.

Q: Thank you.

GOVERNOR: Sure, you’re welcome.

Q: Good afternoon. My name is Nick Petterides, and I’m from the SRV/Valle Lobo delegation. My question is, if the United States were to require additional troops for the war in Iraq, would you support the reinstatement of the draft?

GOVERNOR: No. I believe very strongly—(Applause)

When I came over to this country we had a draft, and the experts figured out that it is better to get rid of the draft. So why would we go back to something that we said is not as good a system? So I don’t see any reason for that. I think that we have enough military personnel. I think the important thing is for us to get as quickly as possible out of the war in Iraq, but without—(Applause)

Let me just finish. It’s very important there’s no misunderstanding—without really turning our back to the Iraqi people. To just go now and to turn around and quickly run home would be a big mistake. I think that we should give them a timeline, to say, "Okay, this is as long as we’ll stay. We’ll stay another year. We’re going to help you, but then you have to be self-sufficient, then you have to be able to take care of yourself," and then bring our troops home. I think this is the way to do it. (Applause)

Q: Thank you very much.

Q: Good afternoon. I’m Taylor from SPPY. What are your ideas to improve our state’s national ranking in K-12 education compared to other states?

GOVERNOR: Well, I think that California has a lot of work that needs to be done. And I think that one of the things that we see is, we have continuously thrown more money at education. We are spending this year 56.8 billion dollars on education, which is the largest amount by far in the history of California.

But we also know that it is not just how much money we spend on education, but how we spend it. And this is why I recommended in my State of the State Address this year that we should actually have on the internet, we should have a website where parents can compare one school with the other. Let’s have all the information on that website so you can go on it and see, this school here has a dropout rate of this percentage, versus this school. This school is using their money this way; this school is using their money on something else. How much money actually goes into the classroom versus on all kinds of other things that we are spending money on in education? Does a school have an after-school program, a preschool program? And compare one school with the other so that parents can make wise choices.

Just the same way as you go shopping for a car now. You can go on the website, you can go on the internet, and you can go and decide and compare horsepower, you can compare the colors, you can compare what the speed of the car is, what the price of the car is, how much gasoline they use, what the mileage is, all of those things, and then make the best choice.

We can’t do that right now with schools. Parents cannot compare one school with another and send their kids to the best school possible. We know that there are some schools that are doing really well. I mean, I’ve visited them, they’re doing well, they have every day physical education, they have music programs, they have arts programs, they have all of the different programs, and great teaching, and great leadership. And other schools don’t. What we want to make sure of is that parents know which school is doing well. Then all of a sudden all those students will be going over to that school, that school will be getting bigger and bigger, and the other schools will be empty. And they will get it eventually. They’ll say, "We’ve got to get our act together, we’ve got to provide better leadership, we’ve got to spend the money more wisely, we’ve got to hire better teachers," and so on. So I think this is the solution. It’s accountability, accountability, and accountability, so we get the best teachers and the best school principals, so that you all get the best education. (Applause)

Q: Thank you.

Q: Good afternoon. Sam McAdam, Santa Anita Family YMCA. With the population of our state growing by 700,000 people per year and our water resources rapidly depleting, what are you plans to conserve water in California for future generations?

GOVERNOR: Well, I think conservation is a very important factor, because we have a limited amount of water. And we know, as you say, we have an increase in population, and this is why last year I was very adamant that we start rebuilding California, because for three decades this state has not really built much at all. I mean, we haven’t built the amount of schools that we need, we haven’t built the amount of roads that we need, we haven’t fixed our levees that we need to have fixed. There are a lot of things that we need to do when you start thinking about that, as we increase in population, we’ve got to also build this state, and also rebuild the state.

One of the most important things is, of course, water. Last year in the negotiations we did not get, for instance, water storage, which was one of the things that I wanted to get. And you know, I asked for 68 billion dollars in my infrastructure bonds, and I got in the end 37 billion dollars. Then the people approved an additional 5 billion for water projects so that we have more efficiency in water.

But we are fighting this year—not fighting, I should say we’re negotiating this year—to make sure that we get actually water storage above the ground, water storage, I think, which is a very important thing. And there is always a dispute. Some people believe we shouldn’t have water storage because that means more people will be coming, that we should be working more on conservation. I think we should do both. I think we should provide more conveyance, more water storage, above the ground water storage, and always stress to limit the amount of usage of water, and teach this.

My children, for instance, when I see them taking a shower longer than 5 minutes, which as you know, children have this habit—they get in the shower and they think there’s an endless amount of water in California, and they just stand in the shower. So I go in there and I turn off the shower. And I’ve told them already that I’m going to put a timer on it, like they have in Europe, where after 5 minutes the shower goes off and there’s no water coming for another hour. So this is what they do in showers in Europe for conservation purposes. I think that we have to do the same thing.

We have to think more about how do we conserve water, and also how to conserve energy. Because remember, water deliverance takes 40 percent of our energy. So the more water we use, the more energy we have to use, and the more we pollute the environment. And this is a very important and a sensitive area, when you talk about that, because we’ve got to protect in the end our environment. We’ve got to fight global warming, no matter what. This is a reality; it’s not anymore a debate. We have to do everything we can. And this is why we passed AB 32 last year, and negotiated between the Democrats and the Republicans to cut down on our greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why we have also worked on this this year, on the fuel, so that we cut down our fuel—specifically the fuel, the fossil fuel, make us less reliant on fossil fuel, and also come up with alternative fuel that is emitting less pollution in the air. Okay? Thank you. (Applause)

Q: Thank you.

Q: Thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger. My name is Sam Bayer from Marin YMCA. If the legislature were to bring you a new bill proposing to legalize gay marriage, would you sign it?

GOVERNOR: No. I would not sign it because the people of California have voted on that issue, and they made it very clear under Proposition 22, the majority of people, more than 60 percent of the people voted no on that proposition, no to marriage of same sex. I believe in all the same rights, all the same rights than a marriage, and I’ve passed and signed many bills in order to make sure that we have that here in California. But I don’t want, as the governor, to go against the will of the people. If it goes back on the ballot the people can make the decision. They should make that decision, but it should not be me or the legislators going against the will of the people, in any of this. (Applause)

Q: Jake Peralta, Desert Family YMCA.

GOVERNOR: Do you want to lower the mike a little bit so I can see your face? All right, very nice. Thank you so much.

Q: Yeah, thanks.

GOVERNOR: We’re going to do Twins Number 2 together, let me tell you.

Q: Yeah.

GOVERNOR: I can see it already.

Q: Yeah. Jake Peralta, Desert Family YMCA. And what’s your opinion on stem cell research?

GOVERNOR: Well, as you know, I endorsed stem cell research, and I went out campaigning for stem cell research so it gets voted by the people. And when they fell short of money, and the money didn’t come through, I, as the State, we loaned them 150 million dollars so they can get going. I am a big believer in stem cell research, because I think that it makes us—we are now number one in stem cell research, because this state has committed 3 billion dollars, the hugest amount of money of any state or any country in the world. So I’m very proud of that, that the California people are really fighting for stem cell research, that we have all the scientists come here. We are number one in that, and I think that within the next 10 years, as they say, we will find cures. Thank you.

Q: Okay. Thanks.

Q: Katie Zulka, Tri-Valley Y. Recognizing the vast problem of homelessness in our state, especially in the Bay Area, what steps do you plan to remedy the situation?

GOVERNOR: Well, you know, it’s a huge dilemma in California, and—not that it is not in other states also, but I think in California specifically, and I think that we have to do everything that we can to find ways to solve that problem. I don’t think that you can go and say—people pass local laws, and they say, "We are going to forbid the homeless to sleep here," so they move to the next town. Then they pass a law there, and they say, "We forbid them to sleep in the parks here," then they move to the next area, and so this is what goes on.

And I think that we have had this problem for decades; I don’t think you can ever get rid of homelessness. But I think what we ought to do is find ways of building shelters and giving, especially there are so many people in the homeless community that have mental illnesses, there are so many people out there that need help, there are so many people out there that have fought in a war, that have been in the military and they have defended the freedom of this country, and they are now sleeping out there and they are homeless. I think that we have to find a way of taking care of some of these people and help them, especially those that are mentally ill.

Q: Thank you.

GOVERNOR: Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, thank you very much. You all had very interesting questions. I really appreciate it, and I promise you that if you continue working hard, I’ll be back. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause)