“I say build it.”

Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered an address on the status of the state of California’s governance. The governor appears to be trying to remake his image after a disastrous attempt to gain all of his objectives in a special election. In his speech, he apologized for his mistakes.

The crux of the speech, however, was the governor’s projections of the future. Schwarzenegger insistently placed the needs of California before state legislators, and amazingly was not strongly rebuffed by his political opponents. His listed vision of projects for the state, after which he repeated “I say build it”, drew praise from many people representing all parts of the political spectrum.

For the Central Valley, the governor is demanding better flood control by placing in his budget construction dollars for levies. He also talked about highway projects that would speed up the movement of goods through the state. While obviously focused on his truck highway idea around the Port of Los Angeles, the Valley would see some highway expansion. Notably, a goal for Highway 99, sometimes called the “spine” of the state, is to eliminate cross traffic. Now, some portions of 99 have perpendicular streets where traffic has to dangerously turn on to the freeway, or sometimes drive across.

Whether or not the Governor is simply trying something new in order to help him win a second term, his proposals seem to be both essential and to have popular appeal. Obviously, his proposals will cost money, and lot’s of it. His budget, released earlier this week, projects a shortfall of $4.7 billion. Most of his “State of the State” projects would be paid by local funding sources plus bond measures. Some critics say the state’s borrowing ability would be pushed to its limits to pay for all the proposals.

Other critics suggest Schwarzenegger is doing nothing more than disingenuously supporting issues he earlier opposed (like a hike in minimum wage) in the name of improving his public image. He took a small hit (literally and figuratively) when he had a motorcycle accident and subsequently revealed he had no license for operating 2-wheeled motorcycles. The motorcycle he was on during the accident was connected to a sidecar, which he was allowed to operate. The fiasco was nothing more than a minor embarrassment for him, and in fact the nature of the accident may remind many voters of the reasons Californian’s voted for an action-star in the first place. It sure is cool to see your governor riding around on a motorcycle. One can liken it to seeing Governor Reagan riding his horse.

Image certainly is important, especially in celebrity-mad California. However, Schwarzenegger is increasingly being required to show progress. The lack of improvement is why Gray Davis was recalled in the first place. Schwarzenegger must see throughout history the legacy of politicians is often most visible in public works. Luckily for him, California has a plethora of needs, and it appears he has picked the right projects to support.