DOES ARNOLD NEED MAKEOVER TO WIN AGAIN? GOVERNOR SNUBS CALLS FOR CHANGE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Win or lose in Tuesday's special election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's public image has taken a beating in the past year, leading analysts and even some Republicans to say major changes are the only way he can win back public support for his re-election effort next year.

In a new Field Poll released Thursday - the latest illustration of the governor's sagging public-approval ratings - 55 percent of Californians said they would not support Schwarzenegger for re-election next year.

``He needs to reclaim the rhetorical high ground,'' said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University, Sacramento.

``And he's lost it. That means going back and really trying to get bipartisan solutions. Also looking at systemic issues that he's promised to help fix, developing his own positive agenda to rebuild. And stop threatening more initiatives.''

Arnold Steinberg, a Republican strategist not affiliated with the governor, said it is clear Schwarzenegger needs to make major changes.

``I think the changes required are so substantial, I don't know where one would begin,'' Steinberg said. ``That's based on the sense that these problems are pretty much all of his own making and the people around him.''

Still, Steinberg added, the governor has at least one hope when it comes to his ability to win re-election next year: ``I never underestimate the ability of the Democrats to screw up.''

The governor's political advisers insist Schwarzenegger, an unflagging optimist, remains unfazed and is not planning any big staff shake-ups or changes in direction.

The next major efforts for the governor include a trip to China this month to discuss issues including trade and piracy, and then his State of the State address and first draft of the 2006-07 budget in January.

From the beginning of his term, Schwarzenegger spelled out the three R's that he saw as the key to getting the state back on track - recover, reform and rebuild.

His first year was about economic recovery with a $15 billion bond measure, minor budget reforms, and workers' compensation overhaul. This year's special election, based on efforts he first announced in his January State of the State, has been about reform.

Next year, Schwarzenegger and his advisers promise, will be about rebuilding the state. That means primarily a focus on infrastructure and growth, such as addressing congestion on the highways and ports.

``It's about meeting the needs of Californians and improving Californians' lives,'' said Schwarzenegger press secretary Margita Thompson. ``And it's about providing those basic government services that have been neglected because of the budget crisis that we've been living under for the past years.''

Thompson and other administration officials said they are not aware of any major staff shake-ups the governor is planning in the final year of his first term.

The only expected changes are finance director Tom Campbell, who is now on leave to run the governor's Proposition 76 campaign, and has long been planning to head back to his old job as dean of the business school of the University of California at Berkeley; and interim chief of staff Peter Siggins, who is under consideration for a judgeship.

Schwarzenegger already has a number of Democrats serving in high-level positions, such as senior adviser and longtime friend Bonnie Reiss; his Cabinet secretary, environmentalist Terry Tamminen; and education secretary Alan Bersin.

For its part, Schwarzenegger's administration said the public-image problem is because Democratic groups and their union allies have spent an estimated $100 million to fight his special-election measures and other proposals, and have slammed the governor for what they say has been a more confrontational and partisan tone.

But Democrats say the governor, in fact, has taken on a more partisan tone this year.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuez, D-Los Angeles, said the governor has become a different person from the moderate that voters thought they were electing in 2003.

``I think the governor needs to change his tune,'' Nuez said. ``He won't change his tune unless voters send him a clear message on Tuesday that they don't want government by initiative. And that they elected him to solve problems, not to become a polarizing figure that points fingers and scape-goats.''

The governor's top political adviser, Mike Murphy, said he disagrees with those who say Schwarzenegger changed his position while in office.

``I think he's still a California centrist,'' Murphy said. ``Nothing's changed about the governor.''

California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim said he doesn't see the need for Schwarzenegger to shift to the center, or to change in any way.

After the furor of the special election ends, Sundheim said, the public will see a more accurate picture of his bipartisanship.

``I think as people see this governor and the flurry of politics of personal destruction ends, and they see who this person really is, I think the people of California will get behind him,'' Sundheim said. ``And we will continue to move forward - not to the left and not to the right, but forward. His vision is not about the next election. It's about the next generation.''

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com