LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9 -- Even before the final tally showed a crushing defeat for his pet initiatives in Tuesday's election, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was making conciliatory gestures toward the Democratic state legislators he had derided for being in the pocket of unions and liberal special interests.
It marked a full evolution for the actor turned Republican politician who had launched his term with good relations with Democratic lawmakers, only to see those efforts founder. With his popularity plummeting, Schwarzenegger had backed initiatives that would have increased his power as governor and decreased the political clout of his critics, but voters overwhelmingly rejected them.
"I recognize we need more bipartisan cooperation," Schwarzenegger told his supporters at a subdued rally at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, just hours after the polls closed. He ended his speech with a consolation kiss from his wife, Maria Shriver.
Political analysts said Schwarzenegger's challenge now will be to see whether he can mend fences with legislative leaders, restore his political clout and resurrect his political future.
"For the first time in his adult life, Schwarzenegger is staring at a defeat," said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and speechwriter for former governor Pete Wilson (R). "I mean the 'Last Action Hero' bombed, but he still got $20 million. But this is a real sock in the gut. The question is, how does he recover from that punch?"
Schwarzenegger staked his personal prestige on the vote, turning Tuesday's special election into a referendum not on his initiatives but on him.
Schwarzenegger's measures would have given him the authority to unilaterally cut the budget when revenue did not reflect projections, taken power to draw legislative districts from the legislature and given it to a panel of retired judges, required public employees to give permission for their dues to be spent on politics, and extended the time it would take for teachers to receive tenure.
Polls showed that the more the governor campaigned, the worse his initiatives did.
California's voters rejected all eight initiatives on the ballot Tuesday, including one that would have put new regulations on the power industry and another that would have required doctors to tell girls' parents before performing abortions.
After a successful first year in office hammering out a budget compromise with the legislature, Schwarzenegger moved too far to the right in a state that likes its Republicans moderate, analysts said.
In January, he began attacking nurses, calling them a "special interest group" and in short order alienating teachers, firefighters and police officers. Their unions united against him and launched a withering ad campaign. Representatives of the California Nurses Association hounded Schwarzenegger, holding 107 rallies and following him to eight states and Washington. More than $260 million was spent on this election, the most expensive in California's history.
"Last night, the voters said, 'Hey, get back to Sacramento and do the job you should,' " Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman said Wednesday. "The governor heard that message."
