By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger added financial heavyweight Warren Buffett (news - web sites) to his team on Wednesday as California officials set about finalizing the longest-ever list of candidates in the state's recall election.
"I have known Arnold for years and know he'll be a great governor," Buffett, one of America's best-known and most respected investors, said in a statement. "It is critical to the rest of the nation that California's economic crisis be solved, and I think Arnold will get that job done."
Democrat Gray Davis, unpopular because of the state's record budget deficit, faces the first recall vote against a California governor in the state's history on Oct. 7. Should voters recall him, the alternative candidate with the most votes will take over the richest U.S. state.
After a blast of publicity following his surprise announcement a week ago Wednesday, actor Schwarzenegger has in recent days concentrated on putting together his team, many of whom are veterans of former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson's administration.
In a move that could add gravitas to the campaign, Berkshire Hathaway chairman Buffett will help Schwarzenegger assemble top experts to advise him on the economy, the campaign said.
Schwarzenegger "has been meeting with advisers, talking with individuals who will be joining his campaign and laying out goals and priorities for his proposals he will be laying out as the campaign moves forward," spokesman Sean Walsh said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a report in the Los Angeles Times said Schwarzenegger had "shaken up" his campaign team, but Walsh denied that characterization.
"We are simply adding people to this campaign to make sure this campaign can operate as fully and as effectively as possible. There is no staff shake up, there is just the addition of people to make sure this campaign is world class."
Responding to criticism that the star of the "Terminator" films has avoided taking positions on tough issues, Walsh said Schwarzenegger would detail his proposals in the coming weeks.
CALLS TO CLINTON
Meanwhile, the final list of candidates was due later on Wednesday, but state election officials said they had already rejected several dozen applications as incomplete.
Among the 171 pending or certified candidates were Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and diminutive television actor Gary Coleman. Porn actress Mary Carey (real name Mary Cook) also made the ballot, pledging to wire every room of the governor's mansion with live Web cams if she wins.
More conventional candidates include Republican Bill Simon, who ran against Davis last November and lost, and California's No. 2 state executive, Lt. Gov Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat.
Gov. Davis has adopted a "rose garden" strategy of trying to stay above the political fray and show voters he was doing his job rather than campaigning.
"The governor is focused on governing," a top aide said. "He is not running against Arnold Schwarzenegger."
The aide said Davis has often sought advice in recent days from Bill Clinton (news - web sites), one of only two U.S. presidents impeached by the House of Representatives. Clinton was later acquitted by the Senate over the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.
The Davis aide said the former president advised his fellow Democrat to stay above the fray, focus on the recall process rather than make it a personality contest and avoid sparring with Schwarzenegger.
An aide to Clinton at his New York office said he had previously scheduled a visit to California in September, although no rallies with Davis have yet been announced.