SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger picked a former Democratic Party activist as his new chief of staff after concluding that his current team was trying to push him in the directions they wanted to go, rather than embracing his more centrist ideas, sources familiar with the governor's thinking said Wednesday.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing the governor's private conversations, said Schwarzenegger had also concluded that his management style was flawed and needed to be overhauled.
The sources painted a picture of a governor's staff riven with rivalries and partisan disagreements -- an eclectic mix of Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and a scattering of friends Schwarzenegger knows from the movies.
The governor has been "floating back and forth. There was no course, and he needs badly to have one agenda, one vision," said one of those familiar with his thinking on the issue. "He was getting [advice from] all these people with strong opinions, and it was about their personalities."
Another person knowledgeable about the workings of the governor's office said Schwarzenegger has "known for a long time he had a problem. He just didn't have options."
The governor's solution, announced Wednesday, was to hire Susan P. Kennedy, a onetime top aide to former Gov. Gray Davis whom Schwarzenegger had gotten to know over the last two years through her work as a member of the state Public Utilities Commission.
In announcing the appointment, Schwarzenegger said that he can count on Kennedy to "implement my vision" and work cooperatively with Democrats.
After a bruising political year, Schwarzenegger concluded he could not rely on his current staff to perform that role, according to the sources who discussed the appointment.
The appointment has angered some Republicans, particularly conservative activists. But Schwarzenegger said at a news conference where he appeared with Kennedy that "the important thing is we all know the things that need to be done here in the state. None of that will change. Susan is going to be someone who will be really terrific in implementing the kinds of things we want to do."
"There's no one better out there than her to implement my vision," he said.
Kennedy, asked about working for a Republican governor, said: "My philosophy has not changed. I see a man whose philosophy is not that different from mine. I can't see a lot of differences in philosophy. Moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans -- there's not a lot of light between us."
