Bid to delay Calif. recall fails; GOP lays out budget plans

LOS ANGELES -- Republican recall candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger and Peter Ueberroth laid out economic recovery outlines for California on Wednesday as a federal judge rejected an effort to delay the Oct. 7 vote because of potential problems with punch-card voting machines.

After days of circus atmosphere around the recall, the campaigns began to take a traditional tone with major candidates holding carefully staged events to position themselves before voters.

Schwarzenegger, the action star, surrounded himself executive-style with big-name advisers to outline his economic plans. Ueberroth, the former baseball commissioner and key organizer of the successful 1984 Olympics, held a lean, straightforward news conference to offer his proposal.

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who went on the offensive Tuesday with a speech blasting the recall as a Republican power grab, was to hold a "town hall" meeting in a Hollywood studio Wednesday night.

California's senior U.S. senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, campaigned against the recall in a West Los Angeles speech, saying recalls were designed for cases of misconduct and public corruption.

"It was not meant to recall someone you just elected because you don't like a policy or something they've said and done," said Feinstein, who refused to run as a Democratic replacement candidate.

A federal judge in Los Angeles kept the recall on schedule by turning down arguments by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers that it should be delayed until March so that six counties can complete the replacement of old punch-card machines with more reliable modern systems.

"Because an election reflects a unique moment in time, the court is skeptical that an election held months after its scheduled date can in any sense be said to be the same election," said U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson.

The Schwarzenegger and Ueberroth plans were the latest put forth after general criticism of a lack of specifics from candidates. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the only major Democrat among the 135 candidates, announced his plan Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger met with advisers including former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and billionaire investor Warren Buffett before announcing his ideas during a televised news conference.

Californians are experiencing "the American dream slipping away" because of lost jobs that won't return unless the state creates "a positive business environment," the actor said.

Schwarzenegger said he did not want to raise taxes and would identify areas to cut after a special audit of the state's books "to find out how bad the situation really is."

Education would not be on the table, he said, but he did not identify specific areas he would cut. He contended in response to questions that he did not have to be specific before the election.

"The public doesn't care about figures," he said. "They've heard figures for the last five years, figures and graphs and percentages and all those kinds of things. What the people want to hear is is are you going to make the changes? Are you tough enough to go in there and provide leadership? That's what this is about, and I will be tough enough."

The star of the "Terminator" robot movies said that as the election approached he might identify specific cuts.

He pledged he would immediately call a special legislative session to reform workers' compensation and would also focus on regulatory reform, energy reform and unemployment insurance fund problems. He said he would support a constitutional spending cap.

Schwarzenegger said Californians are overtaxed and that he did not want to raise taxes, but in response to questions he said he could not rule out increases.

"It is clear that we can't ever say never," he said.

Schwarzenegger spoke with Shultz on his right and Buffett on his left, a placement he said was not coincidental. He was asked about Buffett's recent criticisms of Proposition 13, the state property tax cap, which posed a problem for the actor's campaign.

The former bodybuilder said he told Buffett that if he ever mentioned Proposition 13 again, Buffett would have to do 500 sit-ups.

"I'm a big supporter of Proposition 13," Schwarzenegger said.

Ueberroth, who has vowed to only serve out Davis' term, said that if he's elected he would cut state spending across the board by 5 percent and bring in $6 billion through a one-time tax amnesty in which people who failed to pay past taxes would get a chance to settle their accounts without penalties.

"I am a businessman. I'm a leader and a problem-solver," Ueberroth said. "I've had some successes and I've had some failures. Fortunately, I've had more successes than failures, and I pay a lot of taxes," he said.

"What am I not? I am not a politician. I'm not good on television, and I can't give you answers in sound bites," he said.