Garcia not offended
CASA DEL MAR — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized Friday for making statements that Cubans and Puerto Ricans were naturally feisty and temperamental because of their combination of “black blood” and “Latino blood,” saying he didn’t mean to offend anyone.
Speaking to reporters outside Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica following a meeting with the California Chamber of Commerce, the governor said the comments “made him cringe,” when he read them in print on the front page of the LA Times Friday.
“Anyone out there that feels offended by those comments, I just want to say I’m sorry,” he said. “I apologize, because that was not the intention. The fact is that if I would hear those kind of comments in my house, by my kids, I would be upset ….”
During a six-minute conversation recorded this spring, Schwarzenegger and Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy discussed the ethnic background of Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, (R-El Centro), questioning whether she is Cuban or Puerto Rican.
“I mean, they are all very hot,” the governor says on the tape, which was obtained by the LA Times.“They have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it.”
With Garcia by his side on Friday, Schwarzenegger said he contacted black and Latino leaders, who accepted his apology. The governor said they were more concerned about job creation, education and “much bigger issues,” than his private conversations with staff.
Garcia said there was no need for the governor to apologize.
“I am not mad that he recognizes that I am passionate about the issues,” she said. “And I am not mad that he allows me to tell him exactly what I think and what’s on the minds of people in my community. So again, there is no need to apologize.”
Garcia said she and the governor have a close working relationship and that the two joke about her being a “hot-blooded Latina.”
Rep. Hilda Solis, (D-El Monte), said that response only causes further damage.
“Words can be very hurtful and they can be used as swords against people and communities,” Solis said.“If they chuckle it off as a joke, that’s even more hurtful because that’s where stereotypes come up.”
The release of the tape comes at a particularly bad time for Schwarzenegger, who is up for re-election in November. His Democratic opponent, state treasurer Phil Angelides, wasted no time criticizing the incumbent for the remarks.
“Once again, Governor Schwarzenegger has made comments that are deeply offensive to all Californians, comments which have embarrassed our state,” Angelides said in a statement released Friday. “These comments reflect a disturbing pattern of behavior. The governor has an obligation to conduct himself with dignity.”
This isn’t the first time the governor has found himself in an awkward position when it comes to women. During the recall election, Schwarzenegger was accused of sexually harassing six women while on movie sets, going so far as to grope them.
Schwarzenegger offered a public apology to all those whom he may have offended during his “rowdy” days as an actor.
The governor recently settled a case with a British television host who claimed Schwarzenegger groped her and made lewd comments during an interview in 2000. Anna Richardson was one of the six women who came forward during the later stages of the recall campaign.
In 2004, a judge dismissed a case brought by a former Hollywood stuntwoman who also had accused the governor of sexual harassment.
Schwarzenegger said his conversations with staff have been taped since February so that his speech writers can get a feel for his cadence and write speeches that truly reflect the governor’s tone.
“Because I’m Austrian, I have a certain way of speaking,” he said. “I always like to sound like Arnold … be more natural.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 9, 2006. Read the original PDF.