Reluctant Warrior Bests Gov.
A soft-spoken Bay Area teacher of the year recruited for the union's TV ads helped deal Schwarzenegger a devastating setback.
By Mark Z. Barabak
Times Staff Writer
November 10, 2005
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And so, once more, television screens across California filled with the image of schoolteacher Liane Cismowski, peering straight into the camera and politely but firmly reproaching the governor for "too many broken promises and bad ideas on education."
Schwarzenegger and his advisors conceived of Tuesday's election more than a year ago, back when his approval ratings scraped the sky and it seemed he could sell California voters on just about anything. But after a brutal campaign of pillory and protests, it was Cismowski — "nothing, a nobody," in her words — who outshined the governor and helped deliver a major political setback to Schwarzenegger.
Voters on Tuesday rejected all four of the measures the governor presented as his agenda, including ones that could have slashed education spending and lengthened the probationary period for new teachers.
Much of the credit — or blame — goes to the union and the soft-spoken Cismowski, who improbably became one of the most recognized faces of the special election campaign. The union and its allies spent about $20 million on TV ads featuring the high school English teacher, building the "Liane brand," as one strategist put it.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher10nov10,1,6235163.story?coll=la-headlines-california