SACRAMENTO — A few weeks ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hopped into an old military Humvee with the unsubtle nickname Reform 1 and headed off to gather petition signatures for his agenda for change.
But Schwarzenegger is not the only one using automobiles as props in California's increasingly crowded lane heading toward a special election later this year.
On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger's adversaries showcased a smushed 1997 Ford Explorer as they announced plans to begin collecting signatures on a ballot initiative targeting car dealers.
Modeled on legislation Schwarzenegger vetoed last year, the Car Buyers Bill of Rights Initiative would allow buyers to return used automobiles within three days for a refund and restrict the ways dealers can market damaged cars and sell loans.
"We've done polling on it and this is somewhere between sex and chocolate," said Rosemary Shahan, president of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, whose leaders wrote the measure.
Schwarzenegger has picked on some powerful adversaries in his quest to change public pensions, alter teacher tenure, redraw legislative districts and expand his budget authority. Now, they are fighting back, using the same tool: the initiative process.
Many Democrats see Schwarzenegger's efforts this year as a great organizing tool for the party, since so many traditional Democratic groups are furious over the governor's proposals, which have united often sparring factions. State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres said Wednesday that the party had begun a year-round effort to register voters, led by Rick Jacobs, who ran Howard Dean's California campaign for president in 2004.
Under a new umbrella group, the Alliance for a Better California, the governor's opponents are collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would compel drug makers to provide discounted drugs for about 10 million low- and middle-income people. The proposal comes after Schwarzenegger vetoed prescription drug price control bills last year.
The alliance includes groups that represent the elderly and consumers as well as unions for teachers, firefighters, nurses, school administrators and government workers. They have banded together to back counter-initiatives designed to do unto Schwarzenegger -- and his political allies -- what he is trying to do to them.
The alliance is also considering endorsing initiatives that would raise the minimum wage, increase property taxes on businesses and re-regulate the electricity market.
