September 15, 2003

Who's got more pluck?

CONVENTION NOTEBOOK / Nora K. Wallace

Forget the Terminator, here comes the Tominator. That's the nickname tagged onto state Sen. Tom McClintock by his supporters.

One of the recurring themes of this convention weekend -- there have been many -- has been that candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is too "chicken" to debate.

On Saturday, in the hot sun, a man stood outside the convention on the sidewalk of the LAX Marriott in a yellow chicken suit. As delegates readied to listen to Mr. Schwarzenegger, someone released three live chickens amid more than 1,500 people.

"Ha, ha, Arnold's a chicken," laughed Elaine McKearn, when she saw the poultry with "Join Arnold" stickers on their feathers. The Ventura County resident stuck her "McClintock for Governor'' sign behind the birds and took a photograph before someone rescued them.

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Mr. Schwarzenegger said the question he gets asked the most is about his decision to become a Republican.

"That's the No. 1 question I continually get asked, 'Arnold, why are you a Republican?' Thirty times a day I get asked that. And that's just from my wife Maria alone."

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If the top message of the Republican convention weekend was "Get rid of Gray Davis," the second most popular refrain was "End the Car Tax."

Mr. McClintock in particular is the poster child of the cause, with placards, cups and a Web site all promoting his efforts to repeal the increase in the state vehicle license fee.

So after Mr. McClintock's Saturday night speech, people were given a chance to take out their frustrations over the car tax by paying $5 for three swings with a sledgehammer at an Audi parked outside near the banquet hall.

Dressed in a fancy black cocktail dress, Diana Bautista of San Francisco hefted the sledgehammer and took out the car's back tail light.

"It was very empowering," she said, laughing with friends. "A 300 percent increase in car tax? Beating the hell out of it is good."

Gilroy delegate Mark Zappa had a more directed message.

Patting the Audi's symbol before swinging the sledgehammer to obliterate it, he said loudly, "This is Gray Davis right here."

Before whacking another part of the car, he declared, "This is John Burton, senator."

He was so incensed that he paid $20 for 12 chances to pound the car into the ground.

"It was worth the 20 bucks," he said. "That was an E-ticket ride. I have several vehicles and it (the fee) adds up to thousands of dollars. I'm really fed up with it."

But William Tsangares would have nothing of the spectacle. Calling himself the "only Republican on the ballot who is against the recall," the T-shirt wearing Mr. Tsangares plastered a "Vote No First" bumper sticker on the car's hood, next to a Coca-Cola style sticker saying, "California Recall, it's a bad thing."

He paid his $5, but refused to hit the car.

"Why didn't you pick a Hummer," he shouted at the crowd.

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Ventura County Assemblyman Tony Strickland is running for U.S. Senate. As one of the youngest members of the Legislature, he knows some people fear he's too young for the higher office.

"I'm 33 years old," he told delegates on Sunday. "I'm termed out at 33. I know some people say it's not wise to make promises. But I'll make you one political promise. If you elect me, I will grow older."

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The "will he or won't he?" question percolating around the convention wasn't just aimed at Mr. McClintock. Everywhere he went, people asked former Los Olivos Assemblyman Brooks Firestone if he was going to run for a third -- and due to term limits, final -- term in the Legislature. Mr. Firestone laughed every time the campaign was mentioned.

But he couldn't ignore one comment on Sunday.

Republican assembly leader Dave Cox was encouraging people to run for office.

"We need candidates," he told hundreds of delegates. "There's a seat down around Santa Barbara way if we can just persuade Brooks Firestone to run."

As he called for Mr. Firestone to rise to his feet, Mr. Cox chanted, "Brooks! Brooks! Brooks!" to the cheers of delegates.

With Democratic Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson termed out at the end of next year, the only candidate yet to emerge in the 35th District is Democrat Pedro Nava. No Republicans have placed a name in the hat.

Later in the day Mr. Firestone said it was an honor to have been recognized by Mr. Cox from the podium, but he was still trying to figure out how he should react.

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