Caretakers Up Against the Power of a Star

They showed up -- an estimated 2,000 of them -- and stayed through a heavy rain, which was probably good practice for them. If they’re serious about taking on the governor, they’re going to need to be steely.

They believe they are. And that they’ll get even tougher as the year goes on. At the moment, they represent an Orange County coalition of teachers and school administrators, firefighters, cops, nurses and state employees. They have their brethren around the state, but they’ll need reinforcements if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger marshals the forces he appears to have at his command to push his agenda.

First Orange County, tomorrow the entire state!

Sorry, the protesters’ enthusiasm caught me off guard. For now, I’m not taking sides. I’ll leave that to more informed observers. I just don’t associate the O.C. with labor protests.

Today, a week after the show of force outside a Schwarzenegger fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Irvine, Yorba Linda teacher Lloyd Porter was still feeling good vibes.

“It was really invigorating to be there,” he says, already pointing to an event May 3 when selected schools in the county will be targeted to protest the governor’s plans for education spending and pension reform, among other things. While they have specifics (merit pay, anyone?), they also believe that, in general, Schwarzenegger is being unfair and reneging on promises.

But the question is: Can they win enough public support to overrule the wishes of a still-popular governor who says he’ll go to the people to get what he wants? More to the point, can the protesters convince “the people” that they -- and not the governor -- speak for the average Californian?

Porter isn’t saying it’ll be easy. But neither is he pessimistic.

“Now he’s picking on a group of people who are all caretakers,” Porter says. “They’re society’s caretakers. The governor keeps saying he’s going to take it to the people. He’s going to stick it to the people. I think there’s a language problem there.”

The Schwarzenegger camp contends the state is in such dire shape that no group is exempt from cuts. Educators are particularly miffed that his budget withholds $2.3 billion that districts are entitled to under Proposition 98 passed in 1988.

Thus, the battle lines are drawn. Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have expected any group of union members in Orange County to make significant noise against a Republican governor. I’m not saying last week’s protest qualifies as a watershed moment, but I do like an anecdote that Porter offered.

“Around 6 o’clock we headed for the front of the hotel,” Porter says. “We stood there for an hour in the rain, with drums playing, sirens going and people yelling, ‘Shame on you’ and Republicans driving by in their Escalades giving us the digital salute. And by the way, I’m a registered Republican.”

That’s what the coalition must count on: that it has enough Republican sympathizers across the state to thwart the governor.

I ask Porter how his side plans to fight the governor. “The same way he’s planning on it, I guess,” he says. “It’s going to take money.” The teachers association might ask its members to pony up.

Let’s assume the membership will be steadfast. How about the general public?

Can the strongman in the governor’s chair be beaten?

In a weird twist, Porter thinks Schwarzenegger’s star power might work against him. He says, and I think I get the point, that not even Gray Davis at his most unpopular would have prompted the intensity of opposition as did the dynamic Schwarzenegger.

“I see this as a Jesse Ventura syndrome,” Porter says. “If he was a wrestler, we’d probably be through with him already. But since he’s a movie star, he’s got a little more staying power. I think people will figure out in the end he’s just another politician.”