Governor's Staying Power
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — On a recent afternoon, the phone rang in the home of Andy and Rachel Berliner, the husband and wife owners of Amy's Kitchen Inc., an organic food company here.
"Berliner, huh?" came the famous voice on the other end of the line. Then, in German: "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
Having delivered the joke -- President Kennedy made that line famous during a speech in Berlin -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got quickly to the purpose of his call: What could he do to keep the Berliners from moving their business and its 750 jobs out of California?
Such personal appeals from Sacramento are common these days. Schwarzenegger has asked aides to pass along the names and phone numbers of businesses thinking about quitting the state and has schedulers build time into his day to make calls.
The conversations often run 20 minutes or longer. The governor and the business owners talk about an array of expenses, from workers' compensation premiums to electricity charges to land prices. In several cases, Schwarzenegger has followed up by creating so-called A-teams of senior aides to work with individual businesses. (The A is for Arnold.)
"He makes as many of these calls as I bring to his attention. He'd like me to bring him more," said David Crane, a senior advisor to Schwarzenegger on jobs and economics. "He'll talk to businesses of all sizes. The message is: 'Please don't leave. Give us a chance.' "
The governor's experience with Amy's Kitchen suggests the benefits of the personal touch -- and its limitations.
Flattered and impressed by the personal attention, the Berliners told the governor they would delay their move at least until November to give him time to reduce business costs. He is, after all, close to a deal with lawmakers on a reform of the costly workers' compensation system that might reduce premiums.
But considering that they figure they could save $4 million a year by relocating to Oregon, the Berliners say they can't rule out heading north.
"We love California. It's home. If this was simply about making money, we would already have moved our plant somewhere else," Rachel Berliner said. "We are hoping the state can change some things that will give us reasons to stay."
The Berliners, Democrats and vegetarians who don't own a television, met in India in 1979 on a spiritual retreat. They married in 1985 and had daughter Amy -- for whom their business is named -- in 1987.
