SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, launching an overhaul of his administration, is poised to hire a former Democratic Party activist and high-ranking aide to Gray Davis as his new chief of staff, sources familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.
The hiring of Susan P. Kennedy -- a former executive director of the California Democratic Party, longtime abortion rights activist and Cabinet secretary to Davis, the Democrat whom Schwarzenegger replaced -- would signal a shift in direction for the Republican governor.
Schwarzenegger has been seeking to recover politically from the defeat of his ballot initiatives earlier this month and prepare for his reelection bid in this heavily Democratic state.
Multiple administration officials refused to discuss Kennedy. "Why would we comment on something we haven't announced or confirmed?" spokeswoman Julie Soderlund said.
Another administration official abruptly hung up the phone when asked about Kennedy. But an announcement of her appointment could come as early as today, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kennedy, 45, recently told The Times she was a "Democrat to the core," and rumors of her appointment have already upset some Republican activists, particularly social conservatives whose allegiance to Schwarzenegger has been a marriage more of convenience than commitment.
But Kennedy, who is a member of the state's Public Utilities Commission, is also considered friendly to business interests -- a major part of Schwarzenegger's political coalition.
Moreover, she is known as a pragmatic taskmaster who could bring order to the disparate ideologies and allegiances of Schwarzenegger's inner circle.
Schwarzenegger's administration has been beset by infighting and mixed messages, in part because the governor takes advice from a wide range of sources, including close friends in Hollywood and Republican political insiders he has known only a few years.
His political circle already includes at least two prominent Democrats: First Lady of California Maria Shriver and longtime friend and aide Bonnie Reiss. Shriver recently hired another former Cabinet secretary to Davis, Daniel Zingale, as her chief of staff.
Nonetheless, such a high-profile reach to the other side of the political divide is unusual in the sharply divided politics of California state government.
