Los Angeles, Oct 10: California governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger has unveiled a diverse team of aides to help him take control of the divided state and "terminate" its economic woes. Faced with questions over his qualifications for running the most populous US state, and earlier charges of sexual harassment and admiration for Hitler, the movie star politician appeared to go out of his way to soothe concerns over his leadership and create political unity.

In his second news conference since being elected Governor of the Democrat-controlled state Tuesday, the Republican introduced a 65-strong transition team that includes 16 women, a prominent rabbi, a top Hollywood producer and a raft of senior Democrats. "I want to reach out, I want to be the people`s governor," the action movie hero said yesterday, adding that his cabinet would be equally representative after he takes power by mid-November.

"I want to have the best and the brightest people come and work in my administration," he said of the all-embracing line-up. "The process has already begun."

Apart from a budget deficit of up to 38 billion dollars, the newly-minted politician will also have face off with a Democrat-dominate state legislature and deputy governor when he moves to the capital, Sacramento. But while appealing for unity after a bitter election campaign, he warned he would not tolerate lawmakers blocking his plans and threatened to go over their heads and launch popular initiatives if they tried.

Bureau Report