Schwarzenegger's message on bilingualism mixed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Spanish-speaking immigrants can view Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's state Web site in Spanish, where he declares himself a man of the people: "Arnold Schwarzenegger: El Gobernador Del Pueblo."

They can listen every Saturday to the governor's weekly radio address, translated, on Spanish-language stations around the state. And they could have watched the governor last year on various Spanish-language news programs or in Spanish-language campaign commercials.

After Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that immigrants who want to learn English should tune out Spanish-language media, critics were questioning why the governor has devoted himself to bilingual communication if he thinks it hinders the Latino community.

"He's inconsistent," said state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. "If immigrants did what he said, nobody would have watched his campaign ads. Nobody would have watched him on [Univision public-affairs show] 'Voz y Voto.' "

Schwarzenegger, responding to a question on how to improve the performance of English-learning immigrant students on the state's high-school exit exam, said one good way would be to "turn off the Spanish television set. It's that simple. You've got to learn English."

The governor suggested immigrants should likewise avoid Spanish-language newspapers, books and radio during his visit with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in San Jose. He based his comments on his own experience as an Austrian immigrant.

Those remarks seemed to contradict the message sent by the governor's campaign last year.

The governor aired campaign commercials in Spanish. He met with Spanish-language daily La Opinión, where he made a point of renouncing his past support of the anti-illegal-immigrant Proposition 187. He hired Arnoldo Torres, a political consultant who once co-hosted "Voz y Voto," to run Latino outreach.

Schwarzenegger's campaigns also benefited financially from the growth of Spanish-language media. Former Univision Chairman A. Jerrold Perenchio has given nearly $4 million to Schwarzenegger's political causes since 2003. Perenchio gave an additional $4.3 million to the California Republican Party last year, when the party financed advertisements to help Schwarzenegger win re-election.

The governor in 2006 received between 33 to 40 percent of the Latino vote based on three exit polls, a historically high figure for a Republican.

Roger Salazar, a California Democratic Party consultant, said the governor's Wednesday comments suggest his campaign outreach through Spanish-language media was disingenuous.

"It's hypocritical and it shows that the [campaign] actions were done for purely political motives," Salazar said.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor's comments were not an attack on Spanish-language media, but advice to those who want help in learning English.

"He never discounted the importance of Spanish-language media here in California," McLear said. "There is absolutely an important role they play in California, and he recognizes that."

Schwarzenegger still maintains his Spanish-language Web site and has hired aides capable of speaking to Spanish-language media on his behalf. He has his radio addresses dubbed in Spanish. His Web site provides links to state agency pages in Spanish.

"We are very much in favor of transparency, and we understand that a lot of folks here are more comfortable with Spanish," McLear said. "Obviously, we want to get them to a point where they are more comfortable with English. But for those who are more comfortable with Spanish or are working to get there, we want to make sure the resources are available so they can see what the governor is doing."