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Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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October 09, 2003

Transition team

Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger today unveiled a transition team whose ideological breadth could bridge the Central Valley. It runs from Bill Simon on the right to Willie Brown on the left and includes just about every imaginable spot in between. Despite Simon’s presence, the team does not appear heavily weighted to the right. Most of the Republicans are of the more moderate stripe – people like former Assemblywoman Charlene Zettel and former state Sen. Rebecca Morgan. One of the more notable names on the list is Tammy Bruce, former president of the LA chapter of the National Organization for Women and a member of the group’s board of directors. She was a Schwarzenegger supporter during the campaign.

Others: Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, Sen. Jim Brulte, Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Tazpayers Assn., USC law professor Susan Estrich, former state Treasurer Matt Fong, LA Mayor Jim Hahn, former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, Robin Kramer, a former Dick Riordan aide, investor Gerald Parsky, who is Bush’s man in California, Cassandra Pye of the California Chamber of Commerce, and many more.

These lists are not always meaningful, of course. They are meant, more than anything, to set a tone and send early signals about a new administration’s direction. The names on the list become conduits for people seeking an appointment in the government. But Schwarzenegger has certainly, with this list, delivered the message that he intends to govern from the center while reaching out to both the left and the right.

Transition spokesman Rob Stutzman said legislative leaders have agreed on a $500,000 transition budget for Schwarzenegger (same as Davis and Wilson had) and a $100,000 budget for Davis to tie up his affairs.