Mel Gibson Joins Fight on Prop. 71

Actor Mel Gibson is passionate in his opposition to Proposition 71, the statewide ballot measure that would authorize $3 billion in state bond funds for human embryonic stem cell research.

Gibson joined a debate that has included the views of Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Michael J. Fox and the late Christopher Reeve, all of whom embraced the measure.

On ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Gibson said he was so concerned about the initiative that he called another celebrity, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Republican governor has endorsed Proposition 71 -- to the chagrin of religious conservatives such as Gibson, the director of “The Passion of the Christ,” a controversial retelling of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.

“He said, ‘Well, I’m very busy now. I’ll call you back. I’ve got to make a speech, you know. I’ll call you right back.’ Well, Arnold, I’m still waiting for your call,” Gibson said

Schwarzenegger seemed puzzled when asked about it later: “I don’t know what this was all about. I did talk to him for several minutes and explained to him what my position was.” After the speech in San Diego, “I called back at 9 o’clock and left a message on his phone,” Schwarzenegger said. “He hasn’t returned my call.”

Gibson said he opposed the notion of extracting stem cells from human embryos, saying he considered them forms of life.

“I was never in a petri dish, but at one stage I was that little cluster of cells myself, as were you, as was the doctor, as is everybody. Tell me anybody who wasn’t that at some point in their development, and I’ll give you a cigar.”

*

Signs Point to Heavy Turnout

An estimated 73% of registered voters will turn out for Tuesday’s election, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said Thursday, meaning that 12 million Californians may go to the polls.

If accurate, Shelley’s projections would mean that Tuesday’s turnout would be one of the heaviest in the last two decades. The highest turnout percentage in recent California history was in 1992, when 75.3% of registered voters cast ballots.

Among the signs of a sizable turnout are that nearly 1 million new voters have registered in the last 45 days. The final registration figures are expected to climb even higher as county voting officials enter additional data.

*

Reshuffling in Shelley’s Office

At Shelley’s office, talk about turnout doesn’t have to do just with voter participation.

With the presidential election just five days away, the elections chief, who has seen investigations into his campaign finances and reports that he misused his staff, has reshuffled his top aides.

Shelley replaced Undersecretary of State Mark Kyle, a friend and former labor union official, with Cathy Mitchell, who was chief of business programs for the office. Kyle stays on at the agency as a special counsel in Shelley’s San Francisco office.

Pam Giarrizzo, a veteran lawyer with the office, will become chief counsel. She replaces Linda Cabatic, a veteran agency official who is leaving after the election.

Shelley also promoted Caren Daniels-Meade, a 32-year employee and most recently political reform chief, to assistant secretary of state for communications.

*

Governor Looking Beyond Sacramento

A year into his new job, Schwarzenegger is publicly acknowledging that his ambitions may not end in Sacramento.

In an interview to be broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the Austrian-born governor says he favors a constitutional amendment to enable foreign-born citizens to run for president.

“Yes, absolutely,” Schwarzenegger says. “Why not? With my way of thinking, you always shoot for the top.”

Asked to rank his performance as governor, Schwarzenegger said: “Ten being the highest, I would give myself an eight. I think I fell short on some of the things. Probably the communication with the legislators.”

*

Wal-Mart Embroiled In Prop. 72 Fray

Tit-for-tat continues between Wal-Mart and supporters of Proposition 72, which would require medium and large employers to provide health insurance for their workers.

Earlier this week, Wal-Mart, which had been staying out of the Proposition 72 battle, donated $500,000 to the opposition campaign after supporters began airing ads featuring the retailer.

The ads claimed that California taxpayers end up paying for the healthcare of many Wal-Mart workers.

The company provides health insurance for half of its workforce, and has strongly disputed a study that estimated Wal-Mart employees received $32 million in public health subsidies in California last year.

On Thursday, Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), chairman of the state Senate budget committee, said his panel would investigate how much money the state pays to provide healthcare for workers of large employers such as Wal-Mart.

“We need to figure out if companies like Wal-Mart are not paying their fair share,” said Chesbro, a supporter of the proposition. “If they are not, then we are paying more.”

Cynthia Lin, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said, “They are unfairly targeting Wal-Mart for their own political ends when in fact Proposition 72 is a major concern for the broader business community as a whole.”

*

The Battle Over the Airwaves I

Stung by a radio campaign to oust veteran Rep. David Dreier, the National Republican Congressional Committee has filed a federal elections complaint. It contends that an ongoing campaign by a pair of radio talk-show hosts represents an illegal contribution to Dreier’s opponent.

Dreier (R-San Dimas) has been taking a beating at the hands of radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of KFI-AM (640) radio in Los Angeles. They have launched an on-air campaign to oust the 24-year veteran for what they claim is a lax record on illegal immigration. Dreier’s opponent, Cynthia Matthews, has appeared on “The John and Ken Show” during the campaign.

The radio hosts say they have offered to have Dreier appear on their show to defend his record on illegal immigration, but he has declined. Kobylt called the complaint “absurd” said he and Chiampou did not plan to retreat from their efforts to oust Dreier.

*

The Battle Over the Airwaves II

Democrats followed through Thursday on threats to file formal complaints against Harry J. Pappas, a Central Valley broadcaster who donated $325,000 in free television and radio advertising time to Republican county committees.

Pappas’ stations broadcast in the 30th Assembly District, one of the closest battles in this year’s California legislative races. The company said Wednesday its donations were legal.

The Democratic candidate, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra of Hanford, filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission demanding that she receive the same amount of air time made available to the GOP candidate, Dean Gardner.

The complaint also asks for fines against the station.

*

Another Billionaire Steps Up to Plate

Another billionaire weighed in Thursday on the battle over changing the state’s tough three-strikes sentencing law. Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Corp. one of the nation’s largest auto insurers, gave $350,000 to the effort to pass Proposition 66.

Like fellow out-of-state billionaires George Soros and John Sperling, who both gave $350,000 Wednesday, Lewis has now given $500,000 to the Yes on 66 campaign.

Those new contributions came as Orange County billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III this week gave $1.5 million to defeat the ballot measure.

*

Times staff writers Robert Salladay, Tim Reiterman, Hugo Martin and Megan Garvey contributed to this report.