Kevin Yamamura Sacramento Bee April 30, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday it's good for lawmakers "from those little towns" to go out in the world and see worldly things like "an airport," "a highway that maybe has 10 lanes" or even "a highway on top of a highway."
The Republican governor, speaking at a conference with billionaire Michael Milken on infrastructure, said he has benefited by riding high-speed trains in France and China, which gave him more inspiration to support such projects in California. His comments on small-town legislators drew laughs and applause from the big-city audience at the Beverly Hilton.
"And that's why I always encourage the legislators in Sacramento, because some of them come from those little towns," Schwarzenegger said. "You know what I'm saying? They come from those little towns, and they don't have that vision yet of an airport or of a highway that maybe has 10 lanes. Or of putting a highway on top of a highway. They look at you and say, 'Well we don't have that in my town, what are you talking about?' So they are kind of shocked when you say certain things."
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said he's actually seen an airport or two in his day. He's also been on 10-lane highways and freeways on top of other freeways, even though his Central Valley hometown has only about 14,000 residents.
"Does the governor think that I just normally fly up on 'crop dusters' to Sacramento field by field?" Florez said.
"The governor doesn't live like most people and points to rural legislators as down on the rung of trying to understand what modern society is," Florez added. "It's just insulting. I don't think most Californians live like he does."
Schwarzenegger defended state legislators who take trips financed by donors. He didn't mention that his own trade missions are financed by corporations who give to a nonprofit set up to pay for his travel.
"So I like them to travel around, and I think I'm always against when the media beats up on them for traveling around because someone else is paying for the trips and all of those things," Schwarzenegger said. "I mean, so what. I mean, if they would take the money from the taxpayers, then (the media) would be complaining about them using tax dollars to travel around the world and live in luxury."
"I think it's great when they go to Russia and they go to China and they go to Africa," he added. "They go to the Middle East and they go to Canada and they go to all different places around the world to get education and to learn what those places do. Because we don't have to redesign the wheel all the time. We can go and copy other people."
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