ARNOLD MAY ACHIEVE CONSENSUS BOTH SIDES OF AISLE WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

By naming prominent Democrats as well as Republicans to his transition team, Arnold Schwarzenegger signaled his intention to confront the legislature's partisan gridlock head-on with his populist appeal and centrist positions.

But political observers and legislators say it won't be easy, given the Democrats' domination of the state Senate and Assembly and all other state offices and the aggressive social agenda they have pursued in recent years.

It was with that in mind that the governor-elect brought aboard his transition team such stalwart Democrats as former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who set a record for longevity as Assembly speaker because of his mastery of legislative processes.

``With respect to this transition, (the appointment of Democrats), to me, was a giant step forward for this administration,'' said Hertzberg, who opposed the recall effort but believes many legislative Democrats will work with Schwarzenegger if they see that fellow Democrats have more than purely symbolic roles in his administration.

``We have to put (the recall campaign) behind us now.''

Schwarzenegger's resounding victory also has won him support from conservative Republicans emboldened by the election's results after years of losing ground to the Democrats.

One of the legislature's most conservative members, Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, said Schwarzenegger could smooth over differences within the Republican Caucus.

Strickland backed fellow conservative Tom McClintock, the GOP senator from Thousand Oaks, and rejected efforts by moderate Republican Keith Richman of Granada Hills to find a compromise to the budget impasse in the last legislative session.

``I think Arnold Schwarzenegger's appeal is out there, and he wants to work in a bipartisan fashion to solve the problems of California,'' Strickland said. ``I think he's genuine in wanting to do that, and we want to work with him.''

Liberal Democrats like Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, say they have their reservations about Schwarzenegger and insist there will no compromising on environment, education and other issues that are at the core of their agenda.

``California is still a Democratic state, but Arnold Schwarzenegger crafted a very effective message of hope to appeal to some of the moderate Democrats who believed in that message,'' Alarcon said.

``But Arnold needs to deliver on that hope. It's one thing to campaign, another thing to govern.''

Schwarzenegger walks into a briar patch of partisanship.

When lawmakers redrew legislative districts after the 2000 Census, in what critics dubbed an incumbent job-protection plan, nearly every legislative district was made safe for either Democrats or Republicans, producing lawmakers who overwhelmingly were either very liberal or conservative with few moderates.

Richman said he expected Schwarzenegger to champion long-term reforms such as weaning the state budget from its dependence on volatile revenue sources such as the capital-gains tax. He said lawmakers from both parties also are receptive to the ideas of modifying term limits and shifting authority on redistricting from lawmakers to an independent panel.

``I think that it's going to be very important for all the members of the Legislature to recognize that, if they want to get anything done, it has to be done in a bipartisan manner,'' Richman said.

However, Richman and others said, long-term reforms probably will have to wait until Schwarzenegger and the Legislature hammer out a 2004-05 state budget. The governor has to submit his budget plan by Jan. 10 constitutional deadline, and the legislature has until June to adopt a budget.

Former Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, an East Valley Democrat currently serving on the Los Angeles City Council, said Schwarzenegger will have a fight on his hands if he attempts to slash social programs or education.

``I hope he can balance the budget and not hurt education and not hurt seniors, but I don't know how he's going to do that,'' said Cardenas, a former Assembly Budget Committee chairman.

``When he held a broom in his hand and said he was going to cut taxes and reduce the Vehicle License Fee, he was talking about a major source of revenue for police and firefighters throughout the state of California.''

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com