Stumping iron

Jenny Marder

You’d have thought Elvis was in town.

Fans swooped like vultures, dangled over balconies and risked mosh

pit-like injuries just to score a handshake with

muscleman-turned-actor-turned- politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Huntington Beach was one of Schwarzenegger’s first campaign stops

in his bid for governor in the upcoming recall election.

With his deep tan, sun-streaked chestnut hair and polo shirt,

Schwarzenegger couldn’t have looked less like a politician. He could

have been mistaken for a Surf City native -- if not for the throngs

of screaming admirers that accompanied him on his walk down Main

Street on Friday afternoon.

It’s hard to say if the mob unleashed during his Surf City stint

was a testament to a strong support base in the area or just a

widespread case of celebrity fever.

Politics are simple for Huntington Beach resident Doris Riley, who

plans to cast her vote his way.

“Because I love him. I love him,” Riley said, stressing the second

“love.”

There are many though, who look to the celebrity as a serious

candidate.

“People are constantly underestimating him like they did Ronald

Reagan,” Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said to the restless crowd that

awaited Schwarzenegger’s first appearance. “I knew Ronald Reagan, and

I know Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’ve known him for 20 years, and I’ve

got no hesitation in supporting him.

“He’s focusing on getting the economy and the state growing again,

and getting us out of the horrible economic state that we’re in,”

Rohrabacher said. “Arnold is going to change the world by changing

California, and he’s going to make things better in a very dramatic

way.”

Schwarzenegger’s visit to Huntington consisted of a brief meeting

with members of the local business community, a walk up and down Main

Street and a few parting words. Then he climbed into a black GMC

Yukon, gave a final wave to the crowd and moved on.

Schwarzenegger’s speech was quick, but commanding. He promised to

reform education, revitalize the economy, curb overspending and

restore California’s reputation as the Golden State.

“[The government] has to stop overtaxing, overspending and

over-regulating,” Schwarzenegger said. “All they do is spend, spend,

spend. We have to teach them to spend the money that they have.”

Huntington Beach resident Alan Grimes got a call from his father

in Buffalo, N.Y. early Friday morning telling him that “Arnold’s in

Huntington.” Like thousands of others, Grimes opted to take the

morning off work to catch a glimpse of the movie star.

Grimes thinks that Schwarzenegger’s striking presence, combined

with his conservative platform and glamorous lifestyle, will appeal

to Surf City residents.

“He came here, he didn’t have anything, and he worked his tail off

to become Mr. Universe,” Grimes said. “He made it on his own and

became the American dream. There’s no doubt that he’s a leader,

whether he’s a politician or not.”

Others are more skeptical. Tom Fletcher, who chanced upon the

swarming mob while on a bike ride through Huntington, fears that the

actor lacks the experience to serve as California’s governor.

“He wants to fix the problem, but once he gets into it, will he

really be able to fix it?” Fletcher asked.

As one of the participants in the business meeting, Steve Bone,

owner of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa and the

Waterfront Hilton, said Schwarzenegger conveyed a genuine interest in

what people had to say.

“To each question, he gave a good response and his own opinions of

how things could be fixed,” Bone said. “He gave multiple responses to

multiple questions, he was clearly engaged in the subject, and he

knew enough about the subject to be responsive and educated. While he

has the aura of the Terminator, he’s clearly becoming educated in the

nuances of the state.”

And shaking off the Terminator aura seems to be the least of his

concerns.

Toward the end of his hourlong journey through Downtown Main

Street, the movie star stopped before Aaron Pai, owner of Huntington

Surf and Sport, seized his hand, shook it firmly, stared him

piercingly in the eye and, before moving on, said, “I’ll be back.”

This time it was a promise, not a threat.

“To actually come to the neighborhood and talk to people in the

neighborhood is pretty cool,” Pai said. “We call that going the extra

mile.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at [email protected].