Schwarzenegger defends Nuñez sentence reduction, slams Whitman

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger justified his eleventh-hour sentence reduction for the son of a fellow Sacramento politician, saying “of course you help a friend” and that he felt good about the decision.

Schwarzenegger came under heavy fire for the move, which took place hours before he left office in January. In May, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez’s son Esteban accepted a plea deal in the death of Luis Santos, a 22-year-old college student. Schwarzenegger decided to reduce the sentence from 16 years to seven years, which infuriated prosecutors as well as the victim's family, which was not notified beforehand.

“I understand people’s disappointments. I understand the parents’ anger. I would probably feel the same way,” Schwarzenegger told Newsweek in an article published Sunday. “My office definitely made a mistake in not notifying the parents beforehand … and I’m ultimately responsible.

“I feel good about the decision .... I happen to know the kid really well. I don’t apologize about it,” said Schwarzenegger, who noted in his commutation order that Esteban Nuñez, 21, did not deliver the fatal wound that led to Santos’ death. “There’s criticism out there. I think it’s just because of our working relationship and all that. It maybe was kind of saying, ‘That’s why he did it.’ Well, hello! I mean, of course you help a friend.”

Schwarzenegger made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview in London in which he also discussed failed gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman, his wife, Maria Shriver, and his aging physique.

Schwarzenegger deliberately stayed on the sidelines of the race to replace him last year, declining to endorse Whitman, a fellow Republican. But in the interview, the movie star criticized the former EBay chief and billionaire as too conservative and praised the campaign tactics of the Democrat who did succeed him, Jerry Brown.

“She kind of took herself out of the game,” Schwarzenegger said. “What she did was play to the right, and she couldn’t come back for the general election to grab the center .... Brown was very smart to do exactly the opposite of what she did — which was to say, ‘I’m not a rich guy, all I have is my knowledge and experience, and I don’t need to cater to anyone, I will do what is right for California.’ She was not as effective as a communicator, and her ideas were too extreme.”

The former Mr. Universe also pined about the effects of age on his physique.

“I’m not competing, I’m not ripping off my shirt and trying to sell the body,” Schwarzenegger said. “But when I stand in front of the mirror and really look, I wonder: What … happened here? Jesus Christ. What a beating!”

-- Seema Mehta in Los Angeles

California Republicans chide Arnold Schwarzenegger for reducing sentence of Esteban Núñez

California Republicans delivered a final slap to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at their convention in Sacramento Sunday, formally chiding him for shortening the sentence of the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, a Los Angeles Democrat.

Luis Santos, a 22-year old college student  was stabbed to death near San Diego State University in 2008. Prosecutors alleged that after Esteban Núñez and three friends were barred from a fraternity party, they started a fight that led to Santos’ death.

Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault in May of 2010 in an agreement with the San Diego County district attorney’s office. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to drop murder charges.

Schwarzenegger’s decision earlier this year to reduce Núñez’s sentence from 16 years to seven years infuriated prosecutors as well as the victim's family, which was not notified beforehand. In his commutation order, Schwarzenegger noted that while the 21-year-old Núñez was involved in the fight, he was not responsible for the stabbing wound that led to Santos’ death.

Keith Carlson, the party’s outgoing treasurer, said he wrote the resolution because he wanted to make it clear that the state Republican Party did not condone Schwarzenegger’s move.

The resolution approved Sunday said the action created the appearance that a favor was done for Fabian Núñez. It said the party condemned the commutation of the sentence  and “the manner in which it was done, without concern for the victims and their suffering, and without respect for the message this action will send to potential criminals with connections to those in power.”

Aides to Schwarzenegger could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Santos family has sued Schwarzenegger, alleging that the governor’s failure to notify them about his pending decision violated the state’s Victims Bill of Rights.

-- Maeve Reston in Sacramento

RELATED:

Schwarzenegger commutes prison sentence of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez

Schwarzenegger sent apology letter to victim's family after commuting Esteban Nuñez's sentence

 

Company sues over canceled sale of state buildings

A company that was going to buy several California office buildings has sued the government, alleging its contract was breached when Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the sale canceled last month.

California First LP, the winning bidder to purchase 11 buildings during former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's term, filed the suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, saying state officials failed to perform their obligations.

"The state ... has no right to back out of the deal," said Stuart Liner, an attorney for the firm. 

The state was going to sell the buildings in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento in a deal worth $2.3 billion, then lease them back. The new administration decided the scheme wasn't worth it.

Eric Lamoureux, acting deputy director of the Department of General Services, said the suit had no merit and called it "frivolous."

-- Patrick McGreevy

 

Amid budget debate, Democrats push for green-energy legislation

As the Legislature vets Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal, Democratic leaders are hoping to fast-track a series of bills that they say will spur job creation and ensure California’s role as a leader in renewable energy.

The legislative package, unveiled at a morning news conference Wednesday in the Capitol, includes a bill that would require the state’s electric utilities to get a third of their power from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2020. The measure was repeatedly vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said the bill imposed overly tight restrictions on utilities.

Democrats are also pursuing legislation that would cut red tape for the siting and construction of green energy projects, develop technical training programs for high school students and provide state guarantees for loans to homeowners who upgrade their energy efficiency.

“While resolving the budget is our first order of business, we are serious about rebuilding California’s economy,” said state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg.

State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), the author of the green portfolio bill, said California utilities were already on track this year to meet the existing requirement that they get 20% of their power from renewable sources. "If we send a clear message to the marketplace, the market will respond," he said.

As for the budget, Democratic leaders rejected a conservative idea to place a measure on the ballot that would cut taxes as much as Brown’s measure would raise them. Assembly Speaker John A. Perez called the proposal "laughable."

"What those people are saying is, 'We’re in a hole, let’s dig deeper,' " he said.

Steinberg challenged Republicans to put their proposals in writing.

"Their first step is to put pen to paper,” he said.

RELATED: Toxic chemicals are on Brown's agenda

                     Jerry Brown: A new direction on eco-issues?

-- Michael J. Mishak in Sacramento

Russian president wishes Schwarzenegger good luck

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wished Arnold Schwarzenegger success in his “new life” Monday, according to the Interfax news agency.

“I wish you success in your new life,” Medvedev wrote in a Twitter note addressed to Schwarzenegger, the Russian agency reported. “There are still many interesting things up ahead.”

Schwarzenegger and the Russian president became acquainted in October, when the then-governor visited Moscow and Medvedev jokingly offered him the vacant position of mayor.

-- Sergei Loiko in Moscow

Schwarzenegger commutes prison sentence of Fabian Nuñez's son [Updated]

In his final night before leaving office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted the prison sentence of the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez who had pleaded guilty to taking part in the slaying of a college student.

Schwarzenegger announced the move in a batch of eleventh-hour press releases e-mailed to reporters. He also announced he was granting several other commutations and pardons and giving plum government appointments to political allies and the spouse of his chief of staff.

Esteban Nuñez, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the October 2008 stabbing death of college student Luis Dos Santos near San Diego State, had his prison term commuted to seven years by the governor. In a statement, the governor noted that Nuñez, though involved in the fight, did not inflict the fatal knife wound to Santos' chest. He cites a finding by the court that it was a friend of Nuñez who stabbed Santos through the chest, "severing his heart."

"I do not discount the gravity of the offense," Schwarzenegger's statement said. "But given Nuñez's limited role in Santos' death, and considering that … Nuñez had no criminal record prior to this offense, I believe Nuñez's sentence is excessive."

Fabian Nuñez, a Democrat, grew close to the governor while speaker. The two worked together to pass the state's landmark global warming law, which was a signature achievement of Schwarzenegger's time in office. Fabian Nuñez is a business partner of the governor's chief political advisor at the consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs.

“We are totally outraged,” said Fred Santos, the father of Luis Santos. “For the governor to wait until the last day in hopes it would fly under the radar is an absolute injustice.”

Santos, a software engineer in Concord in Northern California, said Esteban Nuñez “had already gotten lucky once” when prosecutors accepted a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid standing trial on murder charges, which could have led to a life sentence.

He said the family was not warned about the impending commutation and learned about it Sunday from reporters. “The governor did not even have the courtesy to notify the victim’s family,” he said. “This is dirty politics: cutting backroom deals. I guess if you’re the son of somebody important you can kill someone and get all sorts of breaks.”

A spokesman for Schwarzenegger said the governor’s office would have no further comment beyond the press release and statement it sent Sunday.

RELATED:

Judge turns down Esteban Nuñez's request for reduction of sentence

Son of former Assembly Speaker gets 16 years for stabbing death

Assembly speaker's son and co-defendant plead guilty in San Diego stabbing

-- Evan Halper in Sacramento and Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Esteban Nuñez reacts after being sentenced, June 25, 2010, in San Diego. Credit: K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune

[For the Record, 8:10 p.m. Jan. 2: An earlier version of this post said that Esteban Nuñez was found of guilty of taking part in the murder of a San Diego-area college student. The defendants were charged with manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.]

Schwarzenegger names Susan Kennedy to top healthcare post

In one of his final acts as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger will appoint two of his top aides to a powerful new panel that will help negotiate health insurance rates for individuals and small businesses.

Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, and outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe will be named to the new Health Benefit Exchange Board Friday. Jerry Brown's Health and Human Services secretary, Diana Dooley will also be on the board. Appointees from the Assembly speaker and Senate Rules Committee will round out the new five-member panel.

“Both Kim and Susan are tremendous leaders that know how to get things done,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement announcing the appointments. “With their deep understanding of healthcare, public policy and hands-on attitude, I know they will help build an exchange that will create a competitive marketplace, improve quality of care and reduce healthcare costs for California consumers.”

Kennedy and Belshe will each serve four-year terms. Board members do not receive a salary. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work on the implementation of what really is the centerpiece of federal health reform,” Belshe said.

Although he is leaving office next week, Schwarzenegger will leave a lasting imprint on the health exchange board. Kennedy, who has served as Schwarzenegger's top aide since 2006, is widely considered the most powerful chief of staff in recent memory. Belshe has served as director of the Health and Human Services Agency throughout Schwarzenegger's seven-year governorship. Schwarzenegger is entitled to make the appointments because the law goes into effect Jan. 1 and Brown is not sworn in as governor until Jan. 3.

Schwarzenegger's appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation, but future gubernatorial appointees will have to go through the confirmation process. The law was drafted that way to ensure Schwarzenegger was able to fill two spots on the commission.

Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer group Health Access California, said the choices reflect the importance of the new panel. "It's a sign of how important the exchange is that even though they are unpaid. There's a lot of positions that are plum jobs that have a six-figure salary attached to them and not a lot of work. This is the reverse.”

Under the new federal healthcare law signed by President Obama earlier this year, most Americans will be required to purchase health insurance. But insurers will no longer be able to refuse coverage to individuals who are deemed high-risk or have other preexisting health problems.

The health benefits exchange will help negotiate prices for health coverage for individuals and businesses with less than 100 employees. It will also help ensure eligible residents receive tax credits and subsidies to purchase healthcare coverage, as outlined in the federal law. The exchange was established through legislation signed by Schwarzenegger earlier this year. California was the first state in the nation to pass such a law.

--Anthony York in Sacramento

California Supreme Court justices recuse themselves in buildings-sale case

All the justices on the California Supreme Court have recused themselves from hearing the controversial case of the sale of two dozen state buildings because the high court itself is housed in one of the properties in the transaction.

Now, the state will appoint a seven-member panel of appeals court judges to act in their stead to potentially rule on the case. The new "pro tempore" Supreme Court will be selected alphabetically this week from a list of appeals court judges, said Lynn Holton, a spokeswoman for the court.

Attorneys for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had pleaded with the high court on Monday to step in, arguing that waiting for the 6^th Court of Appeal to rule is tantamount to killing the deal. The sale of state buildings is expected to generate $1.2 billion for the state budget this year, but the state would have to lease back the buildings for the next 20 years from the buyer.

Two former building authority members are suing to block the sale, calling it a waste of taxpayer dollars. They lost in superior court but their appeal could stall the case until after Schwarzenegger leaves office in two weeks. Gov.-elect Jerry Brown has not taken a position on the sale.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento

Schwarzenegger looks back

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sat down with The Times' editorial board recently to talk about his years in the Capitol. Listen to excerpts at our Opinion L.A. blog.

Schwarzenegger begs high court to intervene in building sales or they'll 'be lost forever'

In unusually blunt terms, the Schwarzenegger administration has issued a desperate plea to the California Supreme Court to intervene to allow the controversial sale of two dozen state office buildings before he leaves office in less than two weeks.

The buildings’ sale, which would raise $1.2 billion for this year’s budget, is stalled in the 6^th District Court of Appeal in San Jose. The court awaits legal arguments this week from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and opponents of the sale.

But the current timeline for the case would probably drag out until after Gov.-elect Jerry Brown takes office in January. Brown has not taken a public position on the sale, though he declined to defend it as attorney general.

Schwarzenegger’s attorneys, in a legal brief filed Monday, asked the high court to step in “because time is of the essence and the transaction must close by year end or probably be lost forever.”

Critics have called the deal a waste of taxpayer money because the state must lease back the buildings it sells for at least two decades. Two former state building authority members, whom the governor removed from their posts, have sued, arguing, among other things, that the sale is an illegal waste of public funds.

The state Legislature approved the sale in 2009, and Schwarzenegger has vigorously pursued it since.

“For those who say that California is ungovernable, this litigation should serve as Exhibit A,” Schwarzenegger’s lawyers wrote. "This court must act now to prevent this abuse of the legal process by those who put their own petty grievances above the will of the people and the needs of this state.”

If the deal were to fall apart, California's estimated budget deficit over 18 months would grow from $28.1 billion to $29.3 billion.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento